Ready...Set...Worship!

Don't Forget!

2007-07-05T08:01:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have problems remembering things that are important?

One of my favorite movies of all time is Finding Nemo. I remember seeing this movie for the first time when my wife and I were away from the children on a week-long trip. It was about day 5 of the separation (we were really missing our kids by this time), and we thought we’d distract ourselves by taking in a light-hearted animation akin to Toy Story, or A Bug’s Life. However (if you’ve seen the movie you’ll know what I mean), the very opening scene ripped our hearts out and we were gone through the whole movie! The story, based on the underwater life of fish and other aquatic creatures, is basically one father’s incessant and life-endangering search for his lost baby boy. On top of that, the entire movie centers around a parent and a child with a disability…of which our oldest child has…it was not a pretty scene on our row!!

At any rate…one of the main characters introduced in the father’s quest to find his son is a blue Jackfish named Dorie. As is soon discovered, although pleasant and good-natured, Dorie suffers from acute, short-term memory loss. Even though she can retain long-term memories and can function like any average person (fish), her ability to retain recent, accessible information was nil. Although she can remember her name and the that she’s a fish, she doesn’t know who her family is, where she comes from, or what she’s doing when the father (Marlin) bumps into her on the ocean floor. In the span of a 30 second conversation, she introduces herself twice as though they’d never met. From that point on, her bad memory gets the pair in all kinds of predicaments, including a scrape with 3 sharks, a shocking run-in with a jellyfish colony, and an overnight stay in a whale motel. From scene to scene, the fish’s inability to remember gets the two in all kinds of trouble and threatens the rescue mission.

At a pivotal scene in the movie, a clue (a lost diver’s mask) is found that has the name and address of the child’s (Nemo) captors on it. Unable to read human writing, Marlin relies on Dorie to decipher and remember the information to direct them on their journey. Time and time again, the blue fish remembers and forgets the information, causing the journey to prolong and all hopes of a rescue fade. Finally, when Dorie discovers the lost Nemo, her memory is transformed and she is able to unite the father and song at last.

Memory. How many times have I felt like Dorie in this life when I lose my keys, can’t pull up a name from my memory banks, or forget what I’m doing as I travel from the sofa to the kitchen. Even more so, how quickly do I forget things of supreme importance like the sacrifices and promises of my Savior, Jesus Christ.

As we embark on a new sermonic journey for the next four weeks, we turn our attention to Communion, and it’s lost place in the vault of our mind. As we try to remember the importance of the Lord’s Supper this week, we take our cue from the Master and His cue to the disciple to “do this in remembrance of me.”

As you worship this week:

Meditate – on those things that you forget easily.
Contemplate – on the importance and significance of remembering those things that are truly important in this life.
Seek – the Host of the Supper, the Name above all names
Find – a deeper meaning and symbolism in institution and practice of Communion.

Resounding Themes:

Remembering the Master
Knowing the Name of Jesus
Magnificent Love

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

Luke 22:7-20

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- What is the Passover Feast? Why is Jesus choosing to celebrate it with the disciples? What preparations does Jesus require to get ready for the feast? How specific is Jesus in His requests? Is that in and of itself significant?

- Why is the meal so important? Is there any significance to this being the time and place Jesus chose to live his final moments on earth? What does Jesus do with the meal that changes it forever?

- Why is it so important that the disciples “remember” Jesus in the days and weeks to come? What is coming about for Jesus? For the disciples? For the Church? How is something as simple as some bread and juice important for us today?

- Do you really use communion as a time to truly remember the Savior? What good can come from remembering? What bad can come from forgetting? What can you do this week and on Sunday to take the Lord’s Supper and remember him until He comes?

Ready, Set, PRAY

Father, our hearts are filled with joyous expectation as we come to worship each week, for we know that there, we will meet You there. And we also know that the Lord will be our gracious Host at the table of life. God, we ask for a greater sense of awareness and heightened presence of awareness as we come each week to the Lord’s Supper. Precious Savior, roll back the curtain of our memory that we might always keep in front of us Your life, death, and resurrection. Remind us, dear Lord. Through the power and majesty of the Name above all names.

AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Great Expectations

2007-06-27T09:58:00.000-07:00

Have your preconceived expectations ever been met with disappointment?

One of my favorite holiday classics is National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Okay…I’m not upholding this movie as a family “must-see.” Even so, I get a kick out of it every time I watch it! In many ways, it is the story of every family who tries to put on a “big, old-fashioned, fun, family Christmas.” If you haven’t seen the movie, it is basically one man’s struggle to have his entire family (in-laws included) under his roof for the Christmas holidays. From the 25,000 imported Italian twinkle lights to the 20ft Christmas tree, I guffaw as I see the ridiculous measures the father takes to make Christmas grand.

Meanwhile, another plotline has to do with the father, Clark Grizwald (played by Chevy Chase) and his employment. By trade, he is a nutritional food additives designer (too funny), and his division has created a new “semi-permeable, non-nutritious crunch enhancer” that, when applied to a cereal flake, will keep it from getting soggy in milk (don’t we wish that was real!). Anyway, because of this big breakthrough, Clark is expecting a handsome Christmas bonus. In advance of his award, he decides to go ahead and put a hefty down payment on a backyard swimming pool. Anticipating a large five-figure check to come in any day, Clark sets his sights on making the house just perfect for the holidays.
Well, as you can imagine (and probably have experienced), the entire event spirals into disaster as the extended family begins to show up one by one, including the crazy brother-in-law (played by Randy Quaid) and his misfit family. To top it all off, the promised bonus check fails to arrive until Christmas Eve, and, upon opening it, Clark discovers in horror that the expected windfall has been substituted by a menial Jelly of the Month Club membership! With this final blow, Clark has a mental breakdown and proceeds to destroy what’s left of any holiday spirit!

Have you ever had a holiday like that?

Moreover, have you ever built up and expectation in your mind of something that didn’t come to be just like you thought it should?

Followers of Jesus had, in many ways, experienced this let down as well. For so long, they had been groaning for a messiah – a national messiah – to come and reek punishment on those who opposed God’s Israel. In the end (so they thought), Jesus had turned out to be little more than a flash in the pan…a failure like so many before him. And as we see two disciples walking on the Emmaus road, we are confronted with both failed expectations and hope of the resurrection.

As you worship this week:

Meditate – on how Christ is the “expectation-meeter” for the world
Contemplate – the contrasts between what the world wants and what Christ offers.
Seek – a deep sense of joy in knowing that Christ has overcome death and the world.
Find – the joy of hospitality as we are all invited into the banqueting table of God’s grace.

Resounding Themes:

God’s Lavish Hospitality
From the Old Life to the New
Resurrection Hope
Joyful Knowledge of the Christ

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

Luke 24:13-35

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- What has just happened before the men take their journey to Emmaus? Why is it ironic that they are leaving Jerusalem? What are the men doing as they journey? Who joins them? Why don’t they react immediately?

- What story do the men tell the stranger that has joined them? Clearly, what were there expectations of Jesus? Why have they given up hope?

- How does the stranger respond to their story? At what point do they recognize the man as Jesus? How do they respond and where do they go? What do they tell the Eleven?

- Have you ever had a failed expectation of God? Who failed – God or your preconception of what He should be? How does Jesus overcome failed expectations through the resurrection? How, specifically, have you experienced the hope of seeing Christ revealed in your own life?

Ready, Set, PRAY

Holy God, You have revealed Your nature to us in so many ways – each and every day. The earth proclaims Your glory. All the heavens shout Your praise. The universe declares Your majesty. And the complexity of humankind testifies to Your infinite wisdom and power. And even if all our senses were robbed from our bodies – that we couldn’t see nor hear nor touch Your beauty – Your presence would be felt deep within us, as the Spirit translates glory to glory.

And yet, we have also seen Your glory in more radiantly in the flesh-man of Jesus Whom You sent full of grace and truth. Though His life, sacrifice, and victorious resurrection from the dead, our eyes have been opened to Your eternal purpose and mission for the world. All of our hope and joy – both present and future – rests on our ability to recognize the risen Christ!

Lord, continue to open the eyes of our heart – we want so desperately to see You!

And through our Savior we pray. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

From Sidelines to Stardom

2007-06-13T09:09:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had to sit on the sidelines of life?

One of the more storied accounts of a person going from the sidelines to stardom comes to us from the movie Rudy, released in 1993.

Rudy Ruettiger was born in 1948 in Joliet Illinois into a lower class family of steel mill workers. After barely graduating from high school, Rudy took the inevitable path that everyone from his town took of working at a power plant both before and after serving in the Navy. Yet, after losing his best friend in an industrial accident at the plant, Rudy decided to no longer waste time by putting off his dreams. He set out for the University of Notre Dame with hopes of one day playing football for the Fighting Irish. Yet, there were two very large obstacles that lay in his path: 1) he had very poor grades, and 2) he was half the size and weight of the average NCAA football player. Knowing that his future was laid out for him as a steel worker in Joliet, Rudy felt the burn for something more from his life, but seemed unable to achieve it because of his limitations.Yet, with passion on his side and after getting admitted into Holy Cross Junior College in South Bend (with much help by one particularly compassionate priest) Rudy spent his time studying and working as a groundskeeper at Notre Dame's Knute Rockne Stadium. During his time at Holy Cross, Rudy learned that he suffered from dyslexia, which had undoubtedly contributed to his previous academic struggles. However, taking his limitations in stride, he worked around his disorder and received good grades during his two years at Holy Cross.It took Rudy three semesters to be granted acceptance into Notre Dame as a transfer student. He almost didn't make it because Notre Dame does not accept seniors as transfer students. He then won a spot on the scout team, against who the varsity team ran its plays. Through two years of hard work, sleeping the broom closet at the stadium and begging every hour of his day toward his dream, he earned the respect of the Fighting Irish players and coaches, and in the last home game of his senior year, Rudy dressed for the game. During the last moments of the game, Rudy tackled the Georgia Tech quarterback and for the first time in Notre Dame history, a player was carried off the field on the shoulders of the rest of the team.Rudy Ruettiger received his bachelor's degree in sociology from Notre Dame in 1976.

Ahh…what a feel-good story that brings a tear to our eyes and stirs the heart of every underdog that ever lived! Indeed, the entire Bible is filled with stories of the underdog – the person that was made a somebody in the kingdom because of the touch of the Master’s hand. Abraham, Moses, David, Jacob, the woman at the well, Peter, Paul…each were spiritual outcasts until the Lord inserted Himself into their lifestory and changed them forever.

This week, we’re going to look at another spiritual “sideliner,” a eunuch from Ethiopia, and how the touch of the Master’s hand made him a household name in the annuals of faith.

As you worship this week:

Meditate – on what makes you frail, inadequate to perform God’s mission to the world.
Contemplate – how your shortcoming is the beginning of God’s glory and his goal for your existence.
Seek – the healing hand of the Master and His ability to make something beautiful out of every life.
Find – the true joy that comes from embracing to Voice of Truth for your life and following wherever it leads.

Resounding Themes:

Made New, Made Free
The Healing Hand of Jesus
Reborn Into New Life

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

Acts 8:4-8, 26-40

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- Where do we find Philip as this story unfolds? How do the people respond to him? Is there any irony that he now (after seeing Jesus perform so many) is using miraculous signs to affirm the work of God in his life? Where does the Spirit lead him to next?

- Who is this Ethiopian and where is he going? In his native land, who is he? To the Jews, who is he? Would he really ever have any chance at being a part of something big in the kingdom of God? As Philip applies the Scriptures, what truth is revealed?

- When the truth is understood, how does he respond? What happens next? Why is the immediacy of the situation so captivating? What is the true response of a soul set free? Why is the Ethiopian so joyful?

- What sideline of life are you sitting on? What inadequacy do you embody that keeps you from participating fully and freely? How has Jesus overcome your weakness to make you strong for His purposes? How can your shortcomings become a billboard for God’s glory?

Ready, Set, PRAY

Father, I pray to you the words of this song:
Who am I that the Lord of all the earthWould care to know my nameWould care to feel my hurtWho am I that the Bright and Morning StarWould choose to light the wayFor my ever wand'ring heart
Who am I that the eyes that see my sinWould look on me with love and watch me rise againWho am I that the voice that calmed the seaWould call out through the rainAnd calm the storm in me Not because of who I amBut because of what You've doneNot because of what I've doneBut because of who You areI am a flower quickly fadingHere today and gone tomorrowA wave tossed in the oceanA vapor in the windStill You hear me when I'm callingLord You catch me when I'm fallingAnd You've told me who I amI am Yours

Father, we declare that we – in all of our inadequacy – are Yours, to be used for Your purposes. Lord, pull us from the sidelines and give us a roll in Your mission to the world. We declare that we are “somebody” in Christ.

And it’s in His name we pray. Amen.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Good At Judging....Bad At Good Judgment

2007-06-06T09:02:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been quick to judge and slow to use good judgment?

I have issues with many drivers on the highway. Okay, let’s be honest, I have issues in general! But when it comes to bad drivers, I can get incensed in a heartbeat.

For example, don’t you just hate it when a lane is about to end – it’s been advertised for at least a mile in bold letters and flashing lights – and inevitably, some poor misguided soul tries to get into that very lane and pass you…only to have the lane end and have to merge back into traffic – most often right in front of you. I despise that.

And don’t get me started on motorcycles. I know that there are thoughtful, responsible riders out there who obey the laws and give the entire genre a good name. Yet, for every one of them, there are three idiots on super-speed racing bikes that have zero regard for anyone or anything! They weave in and out of traffic, between lanes, and (the most supreme annoyance), ride wheelies going 60mph down the interstate. That really gets my indignation dander up!

And just today, I was headed out alone to a lunch appointment across town. At one point in the voyage, I found myself in a construction zone and, as is always my luck when navigating narrowed lanes on an interstate, I got boxed in by semi’s! At any rate, ahead of me, there was a person operating (I use that term loosely) a minivan, driving wildly, and swerving from lane to lane. Immediately, my righteous indignation faculty began to engage, and I commenced verbally (remember, I was in the car by myself!) accusing the driver of everything under the sun from being a chronic alcoholic to acting insensitively for talking on the phone or playing with the radio. “What an idiot!” I thought to myself, as I observed how well I was obeying the rules while this would-be moron carved a swath of vehicular desecration ahead of me!

However, as I approached the van to pass, I looked over into the driver’s window – hoping possibly to pass on a judgmental stare – and noticed that the businessman’s white color was covered with blood! As I did a double-take, it was obvious that the man had been struck with an awful nosebleed (nostrils packed with fast food napkins) and was simply trying to get off the highway but couldn’t because of the semi’s. Feeling sheepishly stupid, I pulled in front of him and blocked out a semi so the man could go around and exit off the freeway.

How quick we are to pass judgment on others...and, too often, slow to use the good judgment that comes from seeing an entire situation clearly. And yet, as tempting as it is to be judgmental in a motor vehicle, how often are we tempted to judge the sins of others – in light of our own apparent “righteousness.”

In the story of the prodigal son, we see three parties (the young son, the old son, and the father) and how each of them reacts to the real-life prospect of forgiveness and restoration. As you prepare for congregational worship this week, find yourself in each individual’s sandals and be ready to ask yourself the question, “which person am I?”

As you worship this week:

Meditate – on what is it to be saved – truly saved – by the reconciling hand of the Master.
Contemplate – how your life is/should be different because of the pardon afforded by Jesus’ blood.
Seek – Christ’s capacity to offer forgiveness and compassion to everyone you encounter, no matter their apparent condition or position.
Find – full knowledge of both the acceptance and restoration that is offered through the benevolent, loving Father.

Resounding Themes:

Acceptance
Forgiveness
Restoration
Lost But Found, Blind But Seeing

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

Luke 15: 11-32

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

· As the scene opens, what transaction has taken place? Does this seem natural or out of the ordinary? How does the younger son act? What is the father’s apparent reaction?
· What does the son do with his newfound wealth and freedom? What are his highs? His lows? Eventually, where does he find himself? What does he find himself in need of?
· Upon his return, what scene unfolds between the father and the youngest son? What could have (maybe even should have) happened? What role does the older son play? How does he react to the news? What does the Father tell him about the reality of their relationship? What is revealed about the nature of the father?
· In this narrative, who are the three main characters? What does each one of them represent individually? Which one do you most relate to? Be honest! Which one do you have a hard time coming to terms with?

Ready, Set, PRAY

Lord God, how many sides of Your transcend character can we count? You are all powerful – that is beyond contestation. Your foolishness – if that were possible – demarcates the penultimate of humankind’s wisdom. Your presence is both everywhere and right beside us; we know that full well. You are loving, patient, faithful, righteous, holy, sovereign, forever…what a mighty God we serve!

Yet, in the perfection of all Your characteristics, we see You most clearly as a Father. Indeed, You are the Father Who allows us the freedom to accept or reject a parent’s love. You are the Father that desires honesty in our response to Your advances more than mere adherence or obedience. And You are the Father Who, from a long way off, sees His child returning home from a long voyage in the distant land of rebellion and runs to meet them with open arms of acceptance and forgiveness. If we comprehended nothing more about You than this…it would be enough to praise You!

And yet, You are so much more – too wonderful to comprehend or too lofty to attain. Lord, in our weakness, would You restore us and set us apart for Your purposes? And would you also grant us the ability to see others with Your eyes - the eyes of the faithful, forgiving Father - that we, too, we be reconcilers in the kingdom.

Majestic Father, we seek both Your glory and this blessing.
In and through the power of Your Son.

AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

2007-05-02T11:59:00.000-07:00

What is the power of a church in the world?

Almost 152 years ago, a few families gathered in an humble log cabin in the small town of Dallas, Tx to worship their God. Dallas, by all measures at the time, was not much more than an outpost located on White Rock Lake en route to Cowtown (Ft. Worth). At only 8000 citizens, it was an insignificant town during an insignificant time with insignificant people . Yet, by the grace of God, those families began a spark in the dry wilderness that took flame and created an amazing blaze that is now the Highland Oaks Church of Christ. And though the decades have come and gone, one thing has remained true about this church: its undying commitment to the city of Dallas and the world.

This Sunday represents another milestone in the life of this church. Almost 24 years to the day, this church made a bold move to come out of the city and move to the outskirts of town. God rewarded that boldness and vision and the church grew both in numbers and impact. And now, this weekend, the church makes an equally great dedication. However, this does not involve a move to another site; instead our dedication played itself out in the decision to stay right where we were and to minster to our surrounding neighborhoods. In a day and time when all churches have been running from the urban environment, Highland Oaks has boldly staked its claim on the surrounding community and to its discipleship.

In order to make this church a viable place of ministry in the coming years, much work had to be done to renovate the existing campus. To that end, faith-pledged monies have been used to restore and upgrade our existing worship space, including all new seating, sound, lighting, flooring…well, everything! The configurations of walls were changed and traffic patterns simplified. We’ve also added a café called “The Well” that will serve as a conversational hub for our members to enjoy and fellowship. In addition, many other parts of the campus have been changed, including our Chapel, Fellowship Hall, signage, and landscaping. And we’re not done there, as future plans include the addition of a Student Complex, Children’s facilities, and administrative area. Indeed, the future of this great church is very bright and with God in the driver’s seat, we are all along for an amazing ride!

And what of this church’s impact in the community and the world? It would be easier to number the grains of sand on the seashore than to tell of the number of lives that have been touched because God allowed this church to continue through the ages. From the jungles of Africa to the apartments across the parking lot, Highland Oaks has served as a lighthouse of the Gospel for more than 15 decades. And who could have imagined that a few people with a dream to worship their Lord and Savior could have changed so many? Only God could have believed that reality and brought it to bear upon this great church…and thousands more just like Highland Oaks…that His mission of reconciliation might be carried on in the world…until the day of Christ.

May God bless this great church with His Spirit.

As you worship this week:

Meditate – on the amazing things that God has done in history of HOCC.
Contemplate – the new opportunities for ministry that the Lord will bring in this new phase of church life.
Seek – God to ignite a fire in your heart and a passion for ministry in the church.
Find – the Lord’s blessing in your worship and work at HOCC

Resounding Themes:

Active and Living God
Message of Christ’s Redemptive Purpose
Christ in Us, the Hope of Glory

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

Acts 2

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- At first read, what do you find most intriguing about this chapter? What is Peter’s role at Pentecost? Why is that so significant, knowing just who Peter is?

- After Pentecost, how does the church respond? What do they give up to be the Church? What do they gain? What does Acts 2 have to say about the Church and its role in the world? In each other’s lives?

- What “Pentecost-style” things have you witnessed God do in this church? How important is Highland Oaks mission to the North Dallas area – and beyond. How are you specifically becoming a part of the work at HOCC? Where will God take this church next?

Ready, Set, PRAY

And Lord God, Creator, Father, and Sustainer, we declare Your majesty and dominion over our lives and in this church! For you have displayed Your faithfulness throughout the decades…and as we have had faith, we have strived to keep in step with Your will for us.

Lord, as we celebrate our reentry into our new auditorium, we invite you into this room, inhabiting every space, surrounding every detail with your glory. For it is truly all about you! Anything good in this life, we have as a direct gift from Your hand. We do not celebrate ourselves in this endeavor, but seek wholly to be both humbled and blessed by Your graciousness.

Lord, we celebrate You. Would You continue to bless as we equal our faithful response to Your leading.

We love You and embrace Your Son as our true Savior. And its in His precious name, the name above all names, that we offer this blessing over the Highland Oaks Church.

AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Physical and Spiritual - The True Temple of the Worshipper

2007-04-25T13:54:00.000-07:00

Do you ever find yourself trying to separate or distinguish your physical and spiritual lives from one another?

It seems like more and more, our society is (Christians included) set on drawing a solid line between the way they act when everyone sees and the way they behave when only God does. For example, one conjures up images in their mind of the person who drives like a maniac on the road, whipping in and out of lanes and cutting people off…only to reveal a large window sticker that says, “Jesus Saves!” Of course, there’s always the classic mobster movie, where the bad guy goes on a killing spree to avenge his cousin Vinnie’s murder (there’s always a Vinnie, isn’t there?), “whacking” every enemy in a 10 mile radius on Saturday night, only to dress up and go to Mass with his entire family the next Sunday morning as though everything is right in the world. Even more sobering are the true stories we hear every week about a minister or priest who could talk the talk on Sunday, but couldn’t walk the walk in their physical lives on the other six days of the week.

Why are we able, so readily it would seem, to flip the switch that is our spiritual life? On the one hand, it could be because we don’t always measure the full effects about how the way we act in public has anything to do with what is done is secret. However, I believe that, even deeper at the core, is this thought: holiness is good for church and not my life.

As we prepare for worship on Sunday, I want you to take an inventory of your “worship week” (as I’m often referring to it), and ask yourself this simple question: do I, by my action, distinguish between that which is physical, and that which is spiritual?

As you worship this week:

Meditate – on God’s presence in the heart of every believer.

Contemplate – on what a “body-temple” might look like and how your temple is matching up with being the house of God’s Spirit.

Seek – a harmony of existence, where the physical would step with the spiritual, the public with the private, and the seen with the unseen.

Find – strength in giving over your whole life to God: heart, mind, soul, and strength.

Resounding Themes:

Creator God
Worshiping God, Body and Soul
Purity and Holiness

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

1 Corinthians 6:11-20
Romans 12:1-2

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- What problems is Paul addressing to the Corinthians in this passage? Why would that even be an issue at all? What have the new Christians there failed to recognize? How does Paul illustrate the gravity of the situation? Do you think of your body in that way… the temple of the Spirit? Why is mastering oneself (heart, soul, mind, and body) so important for the believer?

- In the end, are the two (one’s physical and spiritual lives) separable? Why do we work so hard at separating the two? What’s at stake? Is it easier to get the spiritual life in check over the physical…or visa versa?

- In Romans, what does Paul espouse to be our “spiritual act of worship?” What does he mean? What single reason does he give for rationale of doing this? What are some of the ways he gives to make this “body offering” a reality? Why is a renewed mind so crucial to real Christian living? In what ways to do offer your own body to God as a living sacrifice in spiritual worship? In what ways have you failed?

Ready, Set, PRAY

All creator God, we praise and magnify Your mighty works done both in the world and on man’s behalf. Even before we were formed in our mother’s womb, You knew us and how we would be. And with that omnipotence, so too did You know that we would be a sinful and lost people.

Lord, how could something so reviled and prone to sin become a house, a temple for Your very Spirit? And yet, we know for certain that the invasion of Your Spirit into our tormented soul brings about a change and a renewal…preparing our bodies for holiness and our lives for devotion.

God, as we become more aware of Your presence in our body-temple, would You grant us the courage to change and be changed – transformed into the likeness of Your Son. And it’s in His name we pray.

AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

The Me Monster Within

2007-04-18T11:56:00.000-07:00

Do you ever find yourself consumed by the “Me Monster” within?

Children can teach us so much, don’t you agree. It has less to do with how they behave and act in certain situations than why they do so. In the end, their lack of inhibition or discretion gives way to allowing them to be honest – sometimes brutally – and allowing us all to watch, process, and gauge our own lives.

My oldest daughter just turned 5 years old. This has been a long awaited birthday for a number of reasons – not the least of which is that 5-year-olds get to go to school. I confess that over the past few months, we’ve used and sometimes abused this false marker to our advantage. For example, if our daughter begs us to do something we are not sure she’s ready for (or that we’re ready for!), we simply say, “well, when you’re 5 years old, you can do that.” Or, in a negative light, when she misbehaves, we have been known to play the guilt card and say, “now, that’s not the way a 5-year-old acts,” knowing all the while, her goal of being five is the very penultimate of her brief lifespan!

At any rate, as the date approached for her 5th birthday, her anticipation and, consequently, her selfishness, began to build. After all, hadn’t we been telling her for such a long time that this was going to be a marker in her life and that it would provide some detail of privilege? With these thoughts and many others packed in her efficient little mind, our daughter began to exhibit signs of what comedian Brian Reegan refers to as “The Me Monster.”

For at least two weeks, she insisted that her given name be changed to “Your Highness” or “Princess so-and-so.” And did we ever oblige! After that, it was about food and her amazing shift in what she did or did not like. Its like one day, she loved red grapes and the next they were as refuse to her refined palate…and so, we bought green ones. Then, it was not good enough for her eat what the grown-ups were having for the evening meal, but that only a specialized diet of chicken nuggets and french fries would suffice an almost 5-year-old.

And then with the presents! In those two weeks before her birthday, she would ask anyone who came to the door, with doe-like eyes, “did you bring me a present?” The mailman had to stop bringing packages to the door because of the guilt he had each time he deposited a delivery without my daughter’s name on in! I would come home from work and, inevitably, she would greet me at the garage door with her repetitive plea, “any presents for me?” It got so ridiculous, to the point when one of us would simply come out of the bathroom and she would ask again for a present, as though we’d been on a long shopping escapade at Toys-R-Us!

And then came the party. The weather had been fairly inclement up to that Saturday morning, and, being at our house, we had to adjust and move the activities inside. We worked hard at entertaining her friends with games and activities, before such a time as we would open gifts and eat cake. However, about 20 minutes in, our daughter decided all preliminary activities were beneath her dignity, and she withdrew and waited for present time while her friends played.

Needless to include, we did open her presents finally…some were acknowledged, some ignored, and then everyone went home. It was about four hours later that she woke up from a nap and asked us yet again, “do I have anymore presents?” With the party over and the 5 year milestone achieved, my wife and I had to step in and explain that her time in the spotlight was over and that it was not going to be about her anymore – there were others in the house and that life was going to have to return to normal. In short, the ‘Me Monster” had taken a hold of her very being and she was going to have to readjust to the concept of other people and their needs. As a side note, her best friend was not able to come to her party that day. One Saturday night, she said her prayers and asked God that her friend bring her present to church the next day. I told her after the prayer that she might want to think about saying something different to God and asking for less selfish things, to which she said, “Okay daddy.”

Wouldn’t you know it, the very next day, her present arrived as requested!

How are you at dealing with the “Me Monster” within? Do you find yourself content to not getting exactly what you desire in a circumstance, or do you constantly fight, tooth and nail, to get your way – despite the needs of others. Years ago, Burger King came up with the motto: Your Way, Right Away, At Burger King Now. It was a genius advertising pitch with elevated the position on the individual customer over anyone in the company, and if things were not exactly the way expected, a simple complaint would fix every ill. Dies this describe your spiritual life and at church? If the song you want sung or the event you think needs to happen doesn’t get done, are you apt to measure your own wants against the community, or do you naturally default to your own desires and tastes? As we deal with the second Urban Legend in our spiritual lives this week (MeChurch), be aware of the “Me Monster” within and be aware of the question, “is it really about me?”

As you worship this week:

Meditate – on how God has blessed you over the past 4 months and how you’ve responded to His provision for your life.

Contemplate – on your current level of contentment, specifically within your church body.

Seek – the ability to melt your personal agendas into the collective direction of the church.

Find – joy and gratitude for what you do have, not in that which you don’t.

Resounding Themes:

Being Filled to Overflowing
Ever-dying Will, Never-dying Gratitude
Kingdom Lenses, Kingdom Service

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

Luke 6:38
Mark 8:34
1 Corinthians 6:20
1 Corinthians 12:12-30

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- What theme do you see through all of these passages? Is it so easy to “die to self” and to understand that “we are not our own?” Why or why not? In short, what is at stake when it comes to matters of will? What is the appropriate response of a Jesus-follower?

- At what point do you find yourself most defensive or selfish in your church? Why do you think that is? Do you have a Burger King mentality about your spiritual development (your way, right way)? Is there a place for dissention or a confrontation on specific matters? If so, when? Are there times/cases that it is inappropriate or ineffectual? Why?

- How can one combat selfishness or the “me-ism” that plagues our society? Are you a grateful, humble person? Do you find it hard to receive a gift? Are you gracious or reflective when given something? Does your attitude toward God’s grace reflect in every area of your life? If not, why not?

Ready, Set, PRAY

Generous Father, we worship You and You alone. There is truly none like You, both for now and forevermore! For what single thing do we have that was not a direct gift from You?

And in all things, teach us gratitude and generosity, that we too might be generous and grateful to others and to You. Father, may our wills and personal preferences dissipate as dew in the morning sun, so that we can better understand community and a sense of belonging. And Lord, may Your Church be the evidence of our love for one another and Your undying love for Your people. Would we think different, act different, and be different because of our contact with the Savior.

Jesus, for all that You’ve done, we say ‘Thank You.” And would You continue to do it in our lives, as we strive to work together, as small parts of a great whole. It is in Jesus’ name we offer this prayer.

AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

God Wants Me To Be Happy...Doesn't He?

2007-04-11T11:10:00.000-07:00

God wants you to be happy…doesn’t he?

It seems like a silly question – even one with an obvious answer – but indeed, does God really want for us to be happy? In the next three weeks, we are going to be launching into a new teaching series entitled, Urban Legends – Debunking Spiritual Myths. The purpose of this series is to take commonly retorted phrases we hear in church or popular Christian writings and put them to the test of Scripture. One of the most prevalent of these notions is believing that God wants for us what will make us happy.

In light of this, I propose this new set of Beatitudes to reflect the state of culture in our society today:

Blessed are the rich in stuff, for theirs is whatever makes them happy.
Blessed are those who keep a stiff upper lip, for nothing will rattle their will.
Blessed are the brash, for they will be heard and get their way
Blessed are those hunger and thirst for the things they can’t have, for soon their stomachs will paunch with forbidden pleasures.
Blessed are those who are vengeful, for their enemies will always cower in their presence.
Blessed are the looseness of character, for they will win the ears of many, though the loyalty of few.
Blessed are the antagonists, for they will create enough trouble to distract others from their own failings.
Blessed are those who stand for nothing, for they will be able to change their spots in a moment and avoid all persecution.
Blessed are you when are the first to indict, accuse, and slander, for yours is the offensive while others retreat.
So, rejoice and be glad, because, for number one to be happy, you have to look out for number one!

Okay, okay, I know…it’s a bit cynical, but the truth remains that our nature is to gravitate towards any behavior that brings us happiness – no matter the consequences – and to substitute God’s will for our own insatiable lust. Indeed, happiness is an admirable achievement and one that most of us would resonate with if given a choice…but is that truly what God wants for us?

The problem with happiness, in general, is its subjective and fleeting nature. Time and time again in the Old Testament, God would give His people something that they thought would make them happy…only a short time later, the grumbling would set in again. In our present culture, there are many people pretending to espouse truth, and even more with itching ears to receive it. Our challenge, throughout this series, is to declare what is truth and then take it to our culture with an affirmative voice.

Does God want us to be happy? I can guarantee that is a piece of what He wants for our lives. But even more so, I believe God wants us to be blessed – and even Paul was quick to understand the blessing in the thorn.

As you worship this week:

Meditate – on a time in your life that you were truly happy, and determine what circumstances precipitated that happiness.
Contemplate – on if/how your attitude shifts when life is not exactly as you hoped it would be.
Seek – the constancy of the Lord and his faithfulness.
Find – contentment in knowing that your happiness in God is not circumstantial, but based on an everlasting promise.

Resounding Themes:

Wonderful God
The Joy of the Lord
Un-circumstantial FaithWonderful God

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

2 Timothy 4

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- What does Paul charge to Timothy in the end of this letter? Why is Timothy’s constant readiness so important? Why is important for us to always be ready as well.

- What time does Paul say is coming? How will men act during this period? Why will they do so? Do you think that people will be swayed by the “myth teachings?” What doctrinal myths are retorted today as Scripture? How did they get that status? How do they continue?

- How can we combat the “urban legends” about spirituality in our own lives? How does Paul tell Timothy to do so? In the end, why do we need to stand up against such myth-telling in our own church, family, etc.?

- Is personal happiness an “urban legend” for the Christian? Why or why not? Is happiness a goal worth achieving for the spiritually minded? Why or Why not? Is there a danger to too much happiness? How so? Can someone possibly be blessed and not happy? Explain? Which is the most honorable/substantive?

Ready, Set, PRAY

O Sovereign of the ages, we worship You…there is none beside You, O Lord! As we pour over the witness of Scripture, we are humbled and amazed at how Your greatness has overshadowed any other moment of history. In famine, You were there. In triumph, You were there. In disaster, You were there. In celebration, You were there. In happiness, sadness, loss, sacrifice, jubilation and grief, you were, are, and will be there. In fact, if we know one thing about You at all, righteous Jehovah, it’s that You transcend circumstance. O God, How wonderful You are!

Father, as we ask, would You show us truth – truth that will outlast the fads this world has to offer. Lord, don’t merely grant us a system to measure all things by, but allow us the discernment to see clearly You will for our lives – from situation to situation and crossroad to crossroad.

And as we humbly search for the equilibrium of happiness for ourselves, assist us, as we measure our life against the Beatitudinal person our Lord Jesus so plainly outlined in the Sermon on the Mount. So, Father, will You bless us – truly bless, in every sense of the word. And thereby, would we find happiness in knowing that You’ll fulfill in our lives what You’ve promised to us all…that Your glory might be revealed.

We ask it in Jesus’ name. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

You Must Listen to Me!

2007-03-21T12:34:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered why you need to listen to particular people over others?

When I was in college and planning my life to be a Youth Minister, I interned at a church one summer. It was quite a wonderful summer, as, for the first time, I had my chance to see what it was like to work in a church and to pursue my passion for ministry. One of the greatest parts of those three months was getting to stay with the church’s members and going from place each week to lay my head; and now, almost 13 years later, some of those friendships still exist.

Yet, one of the most memorable parts of that 12 weeks was our trip to Colorado. As was tradition in that church, the youth group took a week long trip to go on “Wilderness Trek.” If you’re not familiar with that organization, basically, a team of 3-4 experienced (and generally young) mountain guides take a group of 10-30 people up a mountain and back down again. Along the way, many skills are learned, such as repelling, cooking with a propane torch, and taking a bath in 38 degree water that is the result of melted snow. The whole shebang lasts four or five days and peaks, quite literally, with the summiting of a 14,000ft mountain…called Summit Day.

After accomplishing this great feat and not having a massive coronary, we got back to town, enjoyed a night’s rest, and set off to do something relaxing before we go home. Instead, however, we ended up singing up for a white water rafting trip. Let me tell you right now…Trek was easy compared to this! Oh sure, it looks like a load of fun in the brochure – with people smiling and wearing warm clothes. However, when we rode, the water was 39 degrees and we wore full wetsuits. To top it all off, it had rained a considerable deal in the previous week, and the river was up to near record levels. And in a canyon, more water means faster water…and more dangerous to boot!

Each boat had 8 riders and captain. Ours was a man named Jerry. Jerry appeared in his late 40’s and had weathered skin from the sun. As he briefed us on what we had to do to not die out there on the water (not very encouraging), he picked me out to serve as the rowing coach and spotter. Why he chose the heaviest and biggest person to sit in the pole position on the raft is still beyond me – but alas, I was anointed. As he told me my responsibilities, I quickly realized I had two jobs – 1) to spot “holes” in the river where the riverbed had given way underneath and caused a big pothole (for lack of a better explanation) and 2) to get the other riders to row together in time to avoid or go through these pitfalls. These holes were especially dangerous, depending on their depth and breadth, and could easily cause a boat to capsize or even flip over backwards if the crew did not continue to row down into and up over the crest of the hole. Jerry was good enough to tell us that a man had been drowned and killed on our very route not two days earlier with another company.

Gee…thanks, Jerry!

Well, having received this grand, eloquent eulogy, we all boarded the raft and shoved off, each taking their place, with Jerry in the stern on the rudder. They really lure you in at first, as the water was pretty calm and the scenery sublime. We had four other boats from our party behind us, and we would have an occasional rowing war to see who could work the best.

But after about half-hour of this maneuvering and enjoyment, Jerry gets our attention for an announcement. It must have been about this same time that the other boats got their speeches too, because a hush fell over the mighty river. With a serious face, Jerry said simply, “As things get a little more dangerous, you must listen to me.” He had us at the word dangerous. From that point, he told us of the perils that would soon befall us and that, if we didn’t listen to his voice and respond at the appropriate times, we could really be in trouble…or worse. As he finished his final instructions, we could hear a growing roar in the distance, until a few moments later we could see a raging torrent, white with fury and hungry for the next victim.

In a moment, we were in the middle of Armageddon, paddling like a team of Vikings every time Jerry spoke up. “Stroke, stroke, stroke,” I’d say over my shoulder as we moved from one bogey to the next. At one point in the action we had about a 2 minute rest as Jerry spoke up again and told us that the worst was coming next…something about “WidowMaker,” and….as I turned around to spot, I saw the biggest hole yet. Instinctively, I began my barking, “stroke, stroke,” until Jerry said, “no, not yet Chad, wait on my voice.” Coming to attention, I sat up and braced myself for the ride. As we came to the hole, it was so deep, I couldn’t see the bottom from my position. Just as we dropped into the 12 foot deep hole, Jerry said to me, “Now!” And with his mark, I sounded with all the command of a drill sergeant. For what seemed like minutes, we were surrounded by water on all sides – including an ominous wall in front of us. As we paddled with everything we had, we scaled the water wall and safely plopped on the other side. Realizing we weren’t dead, we all let out a cheer. Looking at Jerry, we didn’t know whether to lynch him on the spot, or pledge our next paycheck to him. One thing’s for sure…in order to have survived the day, we needed to listen to his voice.

PS – that was my last summer in Youth Ministry!!

As you worship this week:

Meditate – on God’s Word on what it has to say about the commanding voice of God.

Contemplate – on what it would be like listen to the Good Shepherd’s voice, following where He would have you go.

Seek – a way to cut through the noise of life and focus on the One True Voice.

Find – both comfort and peace as you are led by voice of the Master.

Resounding Themes:

Hearing the Master’s Voice
Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord
A Changed Life

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

John 10

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- What two types of men are contrasted as Jesus opens His thoughts? How are they different? Who are the sheep? How do they respond to the two men? What’s the difference?

- How do the people respond to what he says? Why are they torn? What do they eventually demand of him? How does Jesus respond? Why does He say they don’t believe in Him? How do the people respond?

- When acknowledging their lack of belief, what does Jesus point to that proves who he is? What do they accuse him of? After eluding their lynching, where does Jesus return? How is he received? What’s the difference in this group and the Pharisees?

- Can you clearly hear the Savior’s voice? If no, why not? What “noise” distracts you from being able to distinguish His voice from others?

Ready, Set, PRAY

O God, You are the Great Shepherd, and we shall never be in want! And over the din of life’s noise, we hear Your clarion voice, piercing the racket of all competing voices. You call us each by name, and we come out of pen…out of our safety into the service of your guidance. And with words both gentle and meaningful, you lead us with just the very sound of Your voice. And as obedient lambs, we press ourselves into Your followership and service.

Lord, may we always be able to distinguish Your voice form all others.
Would You speak to us today, as we eagerly listen…Lord, Open the eyes of my heart,

In Christ’s Name, AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

So that God Might Be Glorified!

2007-03-14T07:56:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered why you are given a certain affliction in this life?

If you’ve followed with me these many years, you have certainly heard about my firstborn cherub, Raemey Joy. Beyond being the sweetest and brightest 4 year-old (5 next week) I know, Raemey has done more to teach me about the nature of God in her few years than the sum of my complete life’s work.

As I have said many times, Raemey was born with a genetic disorder called Achondroplasia. When we heard that phrase from the OB GYN a few weeks before she was born, we were as lost as you are now as you read it. In short (no pun intended), Achondroplasia is the genetic condition that causes acutely short stature; she is a dwarf. Technically termed a “little person,” Raemey will likely achieve a height of about 4 four feet, give or take. Her arms and legs are roughly half the length of an “average” person, while her torso and head are generally normal. Now, there are all types of dwarfism (200 known), but hers in the most common. She is part of a very small and very tight knit community of people in America, totaling less than 3000. Even at her young age, she’s had multiple surgeries, including a perilous brainstem decompression that undoubtedly saved her life.

When we found out what she was going to be challenged with and what we would have to adjust to, I confess openly, I was confused. In the back of my mind, that ever pervasive question of “why” was lurking. “Why is she like this?” “Is her condition a product of my past sinfulness?” These questions and many more in the same vein crossed my lips as I came face to face with expectations changed.

And then, as God is so good at doing, I was drawn to His Word, and most specifically to John 9. As the story opens, Jesus and his disciples come upon a man who has been blind since birth. As was taught by the rabbis in Jesus’ day, the apostles immediately jumped to the conclusion that his present affliction was the product of one of his parent’s sins – that God Himself was punishing and enacting revenge on the offspring of sinners. In one of the most powerful statements the Savior ever spoke, he flatly told the disciples that his condition was not a result of a parent’s sin, but the cornerstone on which God would build the temple of His glory. And, as the story goes, the man was healed and God was glorified.

What a revelation from the Lord!!! In my momentary grief, I was certain that my precious little child was being punished for my vast sin; yet, what indeed was at work was bigger than either one of us. Indeed, Raemey has already, in five short years, served as a stage on which the glory of God has been proclaimed for many to see! It’s hard for us in the life to have kingdom eyes when it comes to our own sufferings and challenges. Even the apostle Paul bemoaned a certain “thorn in the flesh” which God had given him to keep him both humble and an ongoing instrument of His visible grace. I wonder today, what plagues you or someone you love? Is it physical? Is it situational? Maybe poverty or brokenness has fallen upon your house. Maybe you’ve experienced loss or grief indescribable in human words and grope, as in the darkness, for an answer to the pain. Oh, beloved, may the Savior come to you today and extend His message of peace once again, as He proclaims, “this has happened that the work of God might be displayed in your life.” Will you give God the glory today?

As you worship this week:

Meditate – on the perfection of God’s creation.

Contemplate – on how each individual, no matter their make-up, represents the genius and image of God.

Seek – the revealing nature of God, and how He seeks to be glorified in your own life.

Find – the opportunity to glorify God through any adversity you have in your life, no matter how profound.

Resounding Themes:

To God Be the Glory
Suffering Produces Perseverance
Christ In Us, the Hope of Glory
I Believe!

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

John 9:1-41

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- Who do Jesus and his disciples encounter on their journey? Is it important that John mentions he is blind from birth? What is the disciples’ immediate reaction to him? Is this shocking? Why or Why Not?

- How does Jesus correct their assumptions? In fact, why does Jesus assert the man has been blind all this time? Does that give you comfort or distress to hear it? Why or Why not?

- How does Jesus heal the man? What does the man have to do to complete the work? Is it significant that the man does not get instantly well? How is the man treated by the Pharisees after he is healed? After he is thrown out of the synagogue, Jesus finds him and asks him what? How does the man respond? Why is this important?

- Do you have some type of affliction that you’ve always wondered why God could have allowed it to happen? Knowing what Jesus says in John 9, could it be that your specific situation has occurred so that the work of God could be displayed more plainly in your life? Are you letting God shine through your weakness or are you still wallowing in your misery and questioning God?

Ready, Set, PRAY

How perfect are Your ways, O Sovereign Master. So vast are the sum of Your thoughts, that, had we were able to count them, they would outnumber the stars in the heavens. For Your ways are not like our own and Your timing transcends the calendar of man. In You is all power and control and peace.

We are a broken people, O God, wrestling daily with the afflictions that plague us in this life. For one, its physical infirmity. For another, it’s a fallen relationship. For still another, it is loss so painful that words cannot express the grief and anger buried inside.

Our Savior and Our God, reach down into our misery and grant us a glimpse into the glory You see, the glory that awaits You as we recognize what You are doing through our pain. Father, if it be Your will, release us from this burden that we would suffer no more. But if not…if this affliction is to be the stage on which You perform Your mighty spectacle of grace…then grant us the ability to sustain a steadfast will and a heart that seeks to give you the glory in all things.

And may we be made strong in our weakness!

By the healing hand of the Master, we cry, AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

The Thruth Shall Set You Free...If You Can Find It!

2007-03-07T10:12:00.000-08:00

Can you say for certain that there is definite, absolute truth in this life?

The following contains excerpts from http://www.probe.org/worldview--philosophy/worldview-and-truth.html

One of the foundational aspects of a Christian worldview is the matter of absolute truth. The Bible rests upon belief in it. Yet surveys by George Barna show that a minority of born again adults (44 percent) and an even smaller proportion of born again teenagers (9 percent) are certain of the existence of absolute moral truth.

Even more disturbing is the growing evidence that even adults have abandoned their belief in absolute truth. By a three-to-one margin adults say truth is always relative to the person and their situation. This perspective is even more lopsided among teenagers who overwhelmingly believe moral truth depends on the circumstances.

Social scientists as well as pollsters have been warning that American society is becoming more and more dominated by moral anarchy. Writing in the early 1990s, James Patterson and Peter Kim said in The Day America Told the Truth that there was no moral authority in America. “We choose which laws of God we believe in. There is absolutely no moral consensus in this country as there was in the 1950s, when all our institutions commanded more respect.”

Researcher George Barna, writing ten years later in his book Boiling Point, concludes that moral anarchy has arrived and dominates our culture today. His argument hinges on a substantial amount of attitudinal and behavioral evidence, such as rapid growth of the pornography industry, highway speeding as the norm, income tax cheating, computer hacking, rampant copyright violations (movies, books, and recordings), increasing rates of cohabitation and adultery, Internet-based plagiarism, etc.

When asked the basis on which they form their moral choices, nearly half of all adults cite their desire to do whatever will bring them the most pleasing or satisfying results. Although the Bible should be the basis of our moral decision-making, the survey showed that only four out of every ten born again Christian adults relies on the Bible or church teaching as their primary source of moral guidance.

The survey also found that the younger generation was even more inclined to support behaviors that conflict with traditional Christian morals. “Among the instances in which young adults were substantially more likely than their elders to adopt a nouveau moral view were in supporting homosexuality, cohabitation, the non-medicinal use of marijuana, voluntary exposure to pornography, profane language, drunkenness, speeding and sexual fantasizing.”

Clearly, Christians are neither thinking nor behaving as Christians. And a large part of the problem centers on this abandonment of a belief in absolute truth. If Christians believe that morality is relative and determined by the situation, then they have changed biblical moral principles. Today there is a critical need for Christians to think and act biblically in every area of life.

How true indeed. In fact, Winston Churchill may have said it best when he quipped,

“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened.”

This week, as we continue our look into the Gospel of John, we continue in chapter 8 as we see Jesus himself declare what is truth and can be trusted. In the end, the list was short – Jesus and His words. These alone, the Savior teaches, will produce absolute truth that will bring both life and freedom. All else is slavery.

As you worship this week:

Meditate – on the truths pointed out in God’s Word that are absolute, unchanging.

Contemplate – your first response when challenged in your morality…do you go to the Truth, or seek your feelings first?

Seek – the wisdom and mind of Christ to be his man or woman in all circumstances.

Find – the freedom that comes from practicing and believing the Truth of Christ.

Resounding Themes:

Everlasting to Everlasting
I AM the Way, the TRUTH and the Life
Set Free by the Spirit of TRUTH
Honest Discipleship

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

John 8:12-42

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- Why does Jesus have to constantly defend himself against what the people thought? If you were a Jew, would you have believed Jesus? Do you tend to believe people that testify about themselves, or are you more apt to believe someone testifying on their behalf?

- Jesus tells them that if they hold to his teachings, they would know the truth and they would be free – what does he mean? What did the Jews think he was talking about? How does Jesus respond?

- Is there absolute truth in the world? What is it? What isn’t it? Why do we fight so strongly against the idea that something can be true once and forever? Are Jesus’ truths enough for life? Why or Why not?

Ready, Set, PRAY

Infinite Father…Who spans both time and reality…we worship You in all of Your glory. From Your throne, You have seen the ages come and go and come again – all at your bidding. And form the beginning of time, You set firmly Your decrees in place, rooting and establishing them in love, as truth for all time. Indeed, Lord Jehovah, You are the embodiment of absolute truth. Only Your wisdom could stand against the ebb and flow of time and remain constant.

And what of Your character is steadfast and unchanging? Faith and hope and love. For in these three truths, we find a greater truth and reality than can be found by any other means. Because of your undying faithfulness, we have faith in Your promises. In response to Your power over sin and darkness, we have hope in this life and the one to come. And because of the love you first showed to us, we, in turn, find the joy that comes from loving others.

For what greater truth can be known in this life, than the love of our Almighty Savior. And in His name and supreme sacrifice we pray.

AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

What Does Your Forehead Say?

2007-02-28T08:29:00.000-08:00

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to have everything you’ve ever done (including the awful) pasted on your forehead for all the world to see?

The following contains excerpts from websites: www.humanadspace.com & www.bbc.com

In January 2005, with the SuperBowl coming around once again, one “average Joe,” with a need for college money and a creative idea, made his impression on the world. The man’s name was Andrew Fischer from Omaha, Nebraska. His big idea? To lease his forehead for advertising space to the highest bidder. In short, he would have a non-permanent logo or brand name tattooed on his head for 30 days.

Fischer quotes, "The way I see it I'm selling something I already own; after 30 days I get it back. The winner will be able to send me a tattoo or have me go to a tattoo parlor and get a temporary ink tattoo on my forehead and this will be something they choose, a company name or domain name, perhaps their logo,"

When probed further, Fischer stated, "I just had this idea and, in my heart, I wanted to take advantage of this radical advertising campaign and become a part of history."

Indeed he did, and in his first year alone, he made over $50,000 selling his forehead as a billboard to every type of business imaginable! Not only so, by his fame has become so large, that he has enjoyed live television interviews on every major network (ABC, NBC, CBS), including appearances on FOX, CNN, and the BBC – just to name a few.

From the Q&A section on his own website Fischer answers the question “What is the most fun part about being the ‘Forehead Guy?’" by adding, “Like I have said in some interviews, it's fun having the recognition. It's also nice to be able to change my look and go back to normal life when I am not currently "advertising" for anyone. Before this experience, I had never been in the news. Now I have been on the front page in Taiwan. That's a big jump into the media, and it's been great so far.”

Also from that same section, the question is posed, “What does the future hold for Human Ad Space? Will this trend die off, or is it just beginning?” Fischer responds, “To be honest, I doubt that there will ever be a day where every forehead is used as ad space, however, I wouldn't be surprised to see more of this in the future. The media loves the idea, and so does the general public. I think forehead advertising will be around for a while. As long as people are still turning their heads when they see somebody with a forehead ad, the marketing value is still there.”

What an amazing story, to be sure! But think about this…what if your forehead was a billboard, and rather than advertising the latest internet bank, it displayed a list of your most previous sins and failures? Would we be as eager as Mr. Fischer to expose our faces to our spouses, friends, and co-workers? And, would we be so bold as to go on national television time and time again, knowing the entire world would be watching as our forehead flashed, “cheater” or “pornoholic” or “abuser”?

In John 8, we see a scenario where two types of people are discussed – those who sin is on their forehead for all to see and those who chose to cover their head, for fear people would know who they really were. In both cases, Jesus knew the true hearts of both, and both parties left the scene changed. The question for us this week as we prepare for worship is this: will we bring into the light that which can become freedom, or will we, as the scribes and teachers of the Law, continue to hide in darkness, in fear that who we really are might be known to all?

As you worship this week:

Meditate – on the life that you show others and the life you live when nobody sees.

Contemplate – on why you are so quick to judge others failures, when your own sinfulness weighs you down.

Seek – the forgiveness that comes from confessing your sins freely before the Master.

Find – the new, free life that awaits the soul that can accept and give grace.

Resounding Themes:

The Searcher and Knower of Us All
God’s Great Grace
Freedom to Love and Be Loved

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

John 7:53-8:11

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- Where do we find Jesus in this story? Why is that significant that he is here, rather than somewhere else? Does it seem like this is his first time to be here? Whom might he be teaching, in your mind?

- What trap do the Pharisees set for Jesus? Who is the bait? What is her crime? Why is this all very suspicious? What leverage do they use to trap Jesus? What are they hoping he’ll say?

- What is Jesus’ first reaction to their charges? Then what does he do? Why is this so strange? Finally, what posture does Jesus take and what does he say? Is this what they were hoping to hear? Why not?

- How does the crowd respond? What’s important about the order of events mentioned? What happened to the woman? What could have happened if Jesus hadn’t stepped in? What has happened to you since you’ve become a Christian? What could have happened to your life if Jesus hadn’t stepped in?

Ready, Set, PRAY

Have mercy on us, O God! According to Your steadfast love!
Lord, if only our foreheads were billboards to the world, displaying our sinfulness for all to see, how different we would behave. Instead, Lord, we find ourselves pulling the cap of shame over our faces, for fear that who we really are will be known – fearing most that what others see would be the worst thing that could happen.

Indeed, Father, You see through our facades and diversions. You know what we’ll do before it is accomplished and what we think before the thought graces our conscience. And even with that infinite, terrible truth ever before us, You choose to love and have relationship with us. Oh, to know and be fully known!

God, we confess to You our sin. Show us mercy and compassion that can only come first from your heart. Gracious Father, lift the mantle of sin off our shoulders. Cleanse us that we might be clean and ready once again to serve and love. Show us grace that we might also be able to share grace with others. May we live in transparency and in the Light, so that our brokenness can be used for your glory.

It is through and by the sacrifice of the Savior we pray, AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

The Power of the Eyewitness

2007-02-21T15:36:00.000-08:00

Have you ever witnessed something so incredible that you had to tell someone else about it…immediately! The following is a story I wrote based on John’s account of the Woman at the Well. Enjoy.

“Oh, this infernal heat!” the woman thought as she loaded up the large ceramic pots on the shoulder yoke in preparation for her daily journey to the village’s water source.

“It wouldn’t be so hot if I could just go to the well early in the mornings like the rest of the women around here,” she grumbled to herself and she placed the stick on her back and made her way out of the tent.

“But, then again, I’m not like the other women around here, am I?” the woman sighed.

It was true...she wasn’t like the others. In the past 10 years, she married and been divorced by five men. In truth, many of them were loathsome and horrible to her. The men that married her expected too much – and at the same time, so very little. All they wanted in a wife was a person to clean the house and make the suppers and fetch the water – it was enough to drive an independent woman insane! She had ideas and talents and things to accomplish much bigger than what a domestic agenda could afford.

And she…well, she was no prize either. Though quite good looking in her youth, the years of abuse and emotional neglect had brought a hardness to her face that made her look much older than she was. She was very capable of love, oh, yes indeed, and many men – even married men – from that village could attest to that! But even the immediate gratification that came from being wanted and needed soon fizzled once the moment was over. No, that wasn’t the kind of love she wanted to give, nor receive for that matter. She wanted a man who could look into her eyes and tell her she had worth, that she could do anything she set her mind to – a man that could see into her needy soul, not just her physical form.

“Good afternoon, Sumi, Jarubi,” she said cordially, passing two women as she walked to the outskirts of town. But her smile met hollow faces, expressionless and unchanged – as though no one had just spoken a word to them. Once her friends, they were now both married to her ex-husbands and any relationship they’d previously enjoyed was over, to be sure.

Indeed, she was a nobody to so many: a social outcast, of a race that many viewed to be muddied and ignoble, and above all that, a woman. In fact, most of her previous lovers prized their precious goats above her! How ridiculous was that - that livestock surpassed the place of a woman in a society…and yet it was true. And as the woman had grown wise to the system and subsequently shunned her traditional role in a world she didn’t help build, she slowly but surely found herself where she was today…alone…on the road to the well…in the heat of the day…and tomorrow would be no different.

Yet, as she neared the place where she would draw water, she saw a man sitting there, reclined against the well, enjoying the shade of the nearby Joshua tree.

“Who is that?” she pondered as she stepped awkwardly on the rocky path.

She knew every man for miles. Some of them, she knew really well – but not this one. Something about him was different. And then she knew it all at once…

“Oh great! It’s a Jew!” she screamed on the inside. “Isn’t it enough that my own people think I’m a loser…only to come here and get ridiculed even further by this ‘holier than thou’ chauvinist pig! If I’m lucky, he won’t even speak to me.”

How used she was to being ignored. And as she took her last few steps and unloaded her precarious mantle, the years of pain were etched plainly on her face, and she was ready for a fight if it came down to it.

“Will you give me a drink?” the stranger said cautiously, looking right into her eyes.

Shocked and without the fury of her inner disdain, she blurted, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?”

She knew Jewish men – she knew them all to well. Her biological father was Jew, though not a very good one. Yet, of any of the distant memories she had of him, she could vividly remember him warning her that true Jews would have nothing to do with her when she grew up. To even come in contact with one (Samaritan), she recalled, would make them (Jews) unclean and unable to worship their God. As a child, she wondered about this and why, even though she bathed most every day, they thought she was unclean. Furthermore, what kind of God would be scornful to those who so much as talked to her?

As she mulled this in the back of her mind, the man responded in turn, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

“The heat has gotten to this man’s mind!” the woman chuckled to herself. Mockingly, she retorted, “Sir,” with disdainful respect, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep.” Pausing, she said condescendingly, “how can you get this living water.”

She knew all about this well and the so called living water it afforded. But she also knew that to get it, you had to have almost 6 cubits of rope and very strong back to retrieve the nourishing spring that coursed at the very bottom and that kept the well full. Truly, she’d only heard about how cool and pure the living water was. If it was only up to her, she’d never have any, first hand.

Then the man met her disrespectful tone with poise and care and said, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again.” A giant, “duh!” must have appeared on her hardened face as he quickly continued, “but who ever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

She felt dismantled at the very thought. “Not thirsty again? If I didn’t thirst, I wouldn’t need water, and if I didn’t need water, I wouldn’t have to…”

“Sir,” now with a newfound respect, “give me this water so that I won’t have to keep coming here to draw water!”

Oh the thought of it all! No more sweaty trips to the well in the heat of the day. No more awkward looks from Sumi, Jarubi, and all those other women who mocked her very existence! Finally, she could live and love in peace!

“Go, call your husband and come back,” the stranger said matter-of-factly.

“Excuse me?” she almost replied out loud. “What does he have to do with this? In fact, there’s not a he right now. There’s Jamel, but he’s not the marrying type. Oh sure, we’re having a little fun for now, but sooner or later, he’ll get tired of me and move on. They always do,” she considered.

Deflated and rather confused about the matter, she said, “I have no husband.” As the words rolled off her tongue, she could tell that they were laced with pride and independence. The fact was, she didn’t need a man – she didn’t need anyone. But deep down, she knew that her pain and loneliness had betrayed her fiery spirit. She feigned courage but offered little less than failure.

Yet, at this thought, the man – a Jewish man…a man she’d never met…a man who shouldn’t even be here – told her life story with accuracy and detail that shocked even her. And when he had finished, she found herself even lonelier than when she arrived. She felt cold, hollow, and defenseless.

At first she was amazed at what he had said, but this quickly gave way to anger as she thought, “How could he know these things? Who has he talked to?” And then it hit her – he couldn’t have known these things. He was a Jew. After all, who would talk to him? Resigned to this train of thought, she became keenly aware of two things. One, he must be some sort of prophet, some type of holy man than can see the future and the past. And two, she was about us unholy and “unreligioned” a person that ever walked the face of the earth! At this point, her only defense against his advances into her personal past was distraction.

To that end, she hurried, “Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

There, she’d done it. And she’d spoken the truth – or at least as much of it as she could remember. If she couldn’t outthink him, she’d have to outwit him, and making him come face to face with his God, a God who only loved the Jews, would surely be enough to send him cowering away from the well and out of her life forever.

Not intimidated, the man pushed forward and said, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

As he spoke, memories of her father flooded her consciousness, how he used to worship his God with rituals, songs, and meals that delighted her as a child. Even from an early age, he taught her that one day, a king would come and save them all from the mess of the world. No longer would they have to live in shame and fear. No longer would they be outcasts because of their past. Indeed, the Messiah (as her dad had called him) would deliver them all and bring harmony to all the races! And yet, after he died so suddenly while she was still young, these teachings disappeared with him – and with him went her hope. Instead, she blamed the God he loved – the God she believed now to be the very same one that took away her identity, her pride, her worth. In so many ways, she was just like her dad – an outcast to the community they grew up in – in search of a family who would welcome them home. It was all so complicated and what she needed was answers.

But there was something about what he said when he mentioned the “true worshippers” that caught her attention. It sounded like everything was about to change from the way it had been. In fact, if she heard him correctly, it sounded like the Jews had been missing it just as much as her people had for all these years. It sounded just like the way her daddy talked so many years ago when he spoke of the Messiah, and the revolution of all things.

Caught up in the moment, the woman risked, “I know that Messiah is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."

Then, looking into her eyes once again, with all the grace a person can give another, the prophet said, “I, who speak to you, am he.”

“It’s not possible,” the woman argued with herself. “This kind of thing just doesn’t happen. I mean, you just don’t pick up your water jugs, walk to the well, and meet the Messiah!” But as she wrestled, she thought about how the man, without prompting, exposed her every sin and failure. Not only had he done so, but he did it with calm and empathy and, dare she think it, mercy.

With that, the fortress that was her heart was stormed by the fresh wind that was this man’s presence. In a moment, she was shattered, collected, and remade into something great. The burden of her life was lifted from her shoulders just as surely as the water yoke by the well. What did those old jugs matter now – they didn’t!

She’d come to the well to find drink, and she’d ended up discovering living water.
She‘d come to the well as an outcast and alone; now she’d never be alone again.
She’d come to the well full of pain and betrayal, and she’d been met with forgiveness and mercy.
She’d come to the well as a despised Samaritan woman, and she’d leave a true worshipper.

Overwhelmed, the woman smiled through teary eyes and began to walk and then run back to the village. She had to tell someone what had just happened – if for no other reason than to prove it wasn’t all a silly dream.

“Who will believe me,” she thought as she ran holding up her dress over her trotting feet. “Who will even listen to me?” as she began to slow to a jog, to a walk…the weight of her past returning to her shoulders once again like the water jugs she’d left behind in her haste. But as she stopped, her feet gained speed and purpose once again. “That doesn’t matter any more. I have to tell Sumi, Jarubi and any one else I can find about this man!”
Her lungs burned as she made it back to the village, but the stamina of her determination was steadfast and unwavering. She could tell that she was making a scene as she passed the outskirts and into the heart of town. If for nothing more that shear morbid curiosity, the people followed the lunatic woman to see what was going on.

When she finally made it to the center of the community, she doubled over and struggled to catch her breath. As she did, the concerned and curious alike gathered around her to discover why anyone, namely her, would make such an entry into their little world.

Having recovered her breath, the woman stood upright once again, only to see that almost everybody in the village was within earshot and many others right on their heals. With calm and poise, the woman replayed the last few moments in her mind. She pictured the man’s face and how he looked at her with the glory of an angel. Hadn’t he known everything about her? Hadn’t he said that all things were about to be made new? Hadn’t he said that he was The One? She knew exactly what she had to do. The Savior of the whole world – even the Samaritans – was right outside the city, and in a moment she had been changed forever.

Clearing her voice, she proclaimed, “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did.” Continuing in explanation, the woman gave detail of what the man had said about her shocking past. Even through the horror and shame of it all, the people knew that no outsider could know the things he knew. Pushing forward, the woman told them about what he had said about the Jews and about “true worshippers.” Confirming what was already soaring through the minds of many, the woman told them that the man told her he was the Messiah.

At this, there was an awkward pause as the crowd began to murmur and rumble with thought. Then, from the back, a young man spoke up and told the crowd that he had heard about a man in Galilee who was at a wedding and turned a bunch of water into wine when the rest had run out. Barely finishing his story, an older man added his own story about somebody named “John the baptizer” who was in the desert preaching a message of repentance and revolution. Another quickly added that his cousin had met John and that he had baptized him just last week in the Jordan. Still, another in crowd commanded all attention when he explained that he heard that John had baptized a man named Jesus, and when he did, something amazing happened, and there was light, and a dove, and a heavenly voice. The tone of the village at that moment was filled with eagerness and anticipation, as many others chimed in with stories they’d heard about a so-called Messiah.

Whoever the woman had been and whatever she had done was lost in the possibility that she had just met the Savior of them all!

Processing it all, the woman brought their exclamations to a head and asked it of them, “Could this be the Christ?”

As you worship this week:

Meditate – on the power of an eye-witnesses testimony and how it changes the hearts and minds of those who hear it.
Contemplate – how you’ve been changed because someone invited you to come and see about this man called Jesus.
Seek – in your own heart, the courage to tell others about the Good News you already enjoy as a saved sinner.
Find – someone today you can tell your story to, and ask them, in turn, to come and see for themselves.

Resounding Themes:

Awesome, Forever God!
Come And See the Christ
What the Lord Has Done in Me
The wonderful, Powerful Body of Christ

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

John 4:1-42

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- Why was Jesus leaving Galilee? Why is Jesus not baptizing? Why is that powerful? Why do you think he went through Samaria? What were the implications of this decision?

- Who does Jesus encounter at the well? Why is this scene awkward? How does the woman respond to Jesus asking her for a drink? What does the woman think about the living water Jesus mentions?

- How does Jesus take the woman off guard? What does she do to try to deflect his advances? How does Jesus re-characterize the discussion? What realization does she come to? What is her first reaction? Why is this important? What happens when she acts on her impulse to go tell the others?

- Who in our day and time are similar to the Samaritan woman? How can we respond like Jesus to their need for worth? Why is the eye-witness testimony of what God has done for us such a powerful tool for the unbeliever? Are you as willing as the Samaritan woman to share your story with others? Why or Why not?

Ready, Set, PRAY

Awkward, outcast, sinful, and scared, we come to the well to find water each day, Lord. And as we come, the horror and embarrassment of our past hangs on our shoulders like so many lead weights. And yet, You meet us at the place of change and the source of refreshment. With the depths of your love, You reach into the well of deliverance and bring forth Living Water. By that Water we are quenched to thirst no more! Thank You Jesus for rescuing us from a life of thirst and bringing us to the place of worth and strength and identity and salvation!

And as we are saved by the crucified One, let us forever sing for all to hear:

Into the river I will wadeThere my sins are washed awayFrom the heaven's mercy streamOf the Savior's love for me

AMEN and AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

How Far Does Your Fatih Go?

2007-02-21T08:25:00.000-08:00

To what lengths would you go to truly live out your faith?

There was once a tightrope walker who did incredible aerial feats. All over Paris, he would do tightrope acts at tremendously scary heights. Later on, in succeeding acts as his skills developed, he would put on a blindfold and go across the tightrope while pushing a wheelbarrow.

An American promoter read about this in the papers and wrote a letter to the tightrope walker, saying,

"Tightrope, I don't believe you can do it, but I'm willing to make you an offer. For a very substantial sum of money, besides all your transportation fees, I would like to challenge you to do your act over Niagara Falls."

Now, Tightrope wrote back,

"Sir, although I've never been to America and seen the Falls, I'd love to come."

Well, after a lot of promotion and setting the whole thing up, many people came to see the event. Tightrope was to start on the Canadian side and come to the American side. Drums roll, and he came across the rope which was suspended over the treacherous part of the falls – blindfolded and pushing a wheel barrow!! As predicted, he made it across easily. To prove his skills, he went back the other way with no effort at all. Finally, making his way back to the American side, he befuddled the crowd by pausing halfway across the tightrope and sitting down in the wheelbarrow! When he finally made it back to the American side, the crowds went wild.

The tightrope walker then approached the promoter in front of all the crowds and said,

"Well, Mr. Promoter, now do you believe I can do it?"
"Well of course I do. I mean, I just saw you do it."
"No," said Tightrope, "do you really believe I can do it?"
"Well of course I do, you just did it three times."
"No, no, no," said Tightrope, "do you believe I can do it?"
"Yes," said Mr. Promoter, "I believe you can do it."
"Good," said Tightrope, "then you get in the wheel barrow."

And although the promoter had been amazed and seen the tightrope walker perform the unbelievable, he could not bring himself to risk his belief with his eyes.

Such it was in Jesus time. In John 6, we see several scenes, beginning with Jesus feeding the 5000, Jesus escaping the crowd and walking on water, and then the ensuing pursuit of the once again hungry crowd in search for the man who fed them. When they finally find Jesus, he rebukes their empty stomachs and commands them to believe in what they have just witnessed. To that end, he calls himself the true bread from heaven; if a man eats of it(me), he will indeed never be hungry again. And after explaining who he was and with the crowds ready to follow him to the end, he tells them that in order to live by what they have seen and believe, they must be ready to eat his flesh and drink his blood – to live as he lives and to die and he dies. Upon hearing this, the once fervent among them hung their heads and walked away in shame and fear.

The word believe, in Greek can simply mean "to live by.” Just as the man was unwilling to get into the wheel barrow, so too, many of Jesus’ followers were unwilling to believe the miracle before them and trust that Jesus was the Savior of the world. The same is for us today: are we willing to fully commit ourselves to Jesus and what he has done in our own lives, or will we, sadly, refuse a deeper life afforded by eating the flesh and drinking the blood of our Savior?

As you worship this week:

Meditate – on the idea that Jesus is the Bread of Life, the True Bread from heaven.
Contemplate – on the miraculous things that you’ve specifically seen the Master do in your own life.
Seek – God’s strength that you would find the faith necessary to go deeper in relationship and commitment to Him
Find – the abundance and joy of living a life that pairs both belief and the radical faith through living by it.

Resounding Themes:

Trading Shame for Courage, Fear for Faith
The Blood that Saves Us
Freedom in Sacrifice

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

John 6

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- What great miracle does Jesus perform before the people in John 6? What is the people’s immediate response? What did they intend for Jesus?

- When Jesus escapes the people and goes to the other side of the lake, they pursue and find him – what does Jesus anticipate they want? Does Jesus feed them again? If so, how? How does Jesus explain himself as the True Bread they really need?

- By what teaching did Jesus instruct the people that if they truly believed, they would have to do? What did the people think he was talking about? What do you think he was talking about? In the end, how did the majority of his disciples respond to such radical call to faith? Who remained? Why?

- How have you experienced Jesus as the True Bread? What first drew you to Jesus? What continues to draw you today? Are you willing to eat his flesh and drink his blood in order to have a part with him? What does that look like in your own life?

Ready, Set, PRAY

Mighty God, Whose amazing activity and creative purpose is evident all creation, we worship at Your feet. Lord, our hearts and our knees and our wills are bowed low as we eagerly anticipate what next You will accomplish in the world.

Lord, if our eyes were faith, we would be steadfast. If our memory was resilient, we would be obedient. And if our knowledge of Who You are was understood, how incredibly wise we would truly be. Yet, Father, we confess that our steadfastness is shaky under the weight of responsibility, our obedience lacks consistency, and our wisdom is not tempered with understanding. In truth, we cannot wear the mantle of discipleship because our shoulders are unsure of such a load.

Perfect us, Oh Lord! How light is the yoke of Christ when the burden is shared! May the blood of His purpose become the very quench of our inner destruction, and the bread of His flesh our only provision. And as we come along side the Savior, grant us the courage to stand firm and not desert his cross, run from his suffering, or flee from his sacrifice. Rather, would we be purified and sanctified and glorified through the power of Christ’s blood…given for the sins of the world…through which we pray.

AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Do You Want to Get Well?

2007-02-07T13:20:00.000-08:00

Have you ever stopped yourself from allowing yourself to be healed because you’d grown use to the impairment and couldn’t imagine life without it?

Many years ago, I traveled on the road with a couple of singing groups. We spent out time doing between 3 and 6 concerts a week all around the country. In my 18 months of doing this, I went coast to coast many times and saw every state in the union – save North Dakota. It was quite a life, to be sure. I lived on a tour bus with 10 other people that had 10 seats and 6 bunks. We were on the move 22-30 days a month, coming home to Amarillo, TX only to restock and repair (which happened quite a lot with that old bus!).

If you’ve never lived this incredibly nomadic lifestyle, one of the major components to making it work is to constantly eat out and eat in a hurry. I remember a specific time, eating in a Cracker Barrel in Nashville late one evening; it was here that I bit down on something hard and broke a bottom molar. If you’ve ever done that, you know the sickening feeling that comes when you hear the noise and then muster enough courage to spit out the broken piece and explore what remains.

As I probed with my tongue, I discovered that the inside of the tooth had broken, leaving a very sharp corner. The next 24 hours was probably the most annoying I’d ever had. Constantly, I found myself feeling the broken place, adjusting to the new found hole in my mouth, and cutting my tongue on the sharp edge. Within a week, I had a full blown ulcer on my tongue where it had been repeatedly cut by the sharp tooth, and I found myself chewing only on the other side of my mouth to avoid further injury.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months until, finally, the initial shock and pain of breaking to the tooth gave way to adjustment and apathy. I learned to live with the break. In time, the break got more severe, chipping off a little more here and there. And then, after 3 years of living with the nuisance, I went to the dentist to have it checked. Upon inspection the dentist informed me that the nerves had grown over with skin to cope with the pain and that a root canal must be performed to stop any further deterioration.

At first, I was disappointed with the news. I didn’t want to get my tooth fixed. After all, hadn’t I adapted to living with it for over three years? Oh sure, I disliked being able to chew on one side of my mouth and loathed constantly being occupied with the hole in my gum line; but deep down, I had made the conscious choice to not to get well and move on with a normal life. However, after I had the procedure and got a gold crown placed over the tooth (thank you Dr. Tate!), I couldn’t imagine why it had taken me so long to get it done! Even months thereafter, I found myself not chewing on that side of my mouth – due directly to the years I’d learned how to adjust around the thing that was keeping me from being whole.

In the end, only a sick man knows what it’s like to resist healing. Conversely, only a healed person knows what it’s like to resist staying ill.

As you worship this week:

Meditate – on God as the Great Physician, the healer of both body and mind.
Contemplate – the ways in which you are sick and desire to be whole again.
Seek – the courage to confess your needs to a gracious God.
Find – the physical and spiritual healing, that you might praise God and be whole again.

Resounding Themes:

Faith In God’s Purpose
Physical and Spiritual Healing
Jesus, the Wonderful, Merciful Savior

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

John 5:1-15

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- Where does this scene unfold? What do we know about the place from what John tells us in the narrative? What types of persons might you envision sitting by the pool?

- Why is Jesus in Jerusalem in the first place? Why do you think he would take time to walk by the pool? In your mind, what drew him to the paralyzed man?

- What was the first thing Jesus said to him? How is the man’s response shocking, given the length of his condition? After Jesus heals him, what does the man do? Why does he still carry his mat with him? What should he have done?

- Where are the “pools of Siloam” in your world today? Who sits around them? Why? Why would a sick person resist getting well? Have you ever resisted healing of some kind – physical or spiritual? Don’t you want to be well? Why or why not?

Ready, Set, PRAY

Sovereign Creator, we look our lives and see how lame we really are! The legs of are faith have shriveled, and the feet of our capacity to love You have grown numb with inactivity. In truth, Lord, it’s been so long since we walked and ran and jumped - that we don’t know if we can ever be whole again.

But, O, Master Healer, would You extend Your restorative hand to us once again? Would You reach into our pitiful existence and break the bonds of complacency, shame, and self-pity that have held us back from a full relationship with you. Bring back strength to our legs of faith, O God! And Great Physician, would you once again revive our once useless feet of love that we might run back to You!

It will be done! We believe it and voice it in Jesus Name – we want to be well!

And we agree in the promise of your faithfulness. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

New Heart, New Life

2007-02-05T08:48:00.000-08:00

Have you ever know someone to that, after having a medical procedure, felt like they’d been reborn into a new life?

When my father was living, he was a pretty active person. He was always piddling with something…working on a car, growing the best tomatoes and cantaloupe money couldn’t buy, cutting firewood for the stove insert in our living room…all to say, his free time was filled with business. However, when he was in his mid fifties, his activity level began to taper off, and over time, his strength and stamina dwindled dramatically.

When he was 59, his strength was such that getting up, dressed, and driving to work was about all he could physically muster. And then, he began to have dizzy spells and blacking out. The most dramatic of these events happened while driving on the interstate one day, and mom had to take the wheel. The doctors did all kinds of tests, each one producing a different diagnosis.

Then finally, on a whim, his cardiologist did a hearth cauterization; the results were staggering. The test revealed that three main arteries were 100% impassible, two were 95% clogged, and another 75% blocked. In two days, he was prepped and in for sextuple bypass. It all moved too quickly for fear and the reality of open-heart surgery to sink in. The day came and went, and I remember sitting in the anteroom with the surgeon after the procedure and watching him sketch a confusing maze of spaghetti on a dry erase board. Bottom line, the surgery was a success, and in the process of working on the heart, they discovered that the back side of the organ was masked in scar tissue – the indelible sign of numerous small heart-attacks over the years.

In a day, he was sitting up. In 3 days, he was walking. In 5 days, he was going home.
In a month, he was active, energetic, and even riding a bike for exercise! When I talked to him sometime after the surgery, dad was vibrant and had great skin color. He was happy and in many ways felt like a young man. His comment to me about the whole experience was that he’d, “felt like (I) he’d been born again with another chance at life.” Shortly after that, he took an early retirement after 37 years with the same company, and enjoyed his last years with a fervor and zeal he’d never known.

In fact, rebirth is possible – even for the aged. In John 3, we see a man – a mature, learned man – who was faced with the prospect of being reborn in the image of Christ. The righteousness that he’d tried to achieve by his own means had made him old, tired, calloused, and unteachable, but the transformative wind of the Spirit had blown across the veils of his heart, and he knew that Jesus could explain the void he was left with. In the end, Jesus told him that he must be reborn in order to live – not from his mother’s womb as he supposed, but into grace received, apart from the law. For Nicodemus, righteousness would never occur from being right, but from having a heart that was being made right by the Spirit of the living God.

As you worship this week:

Meditate – on being daily transformed into the likeness and image of Christ.

Contemplate – the life you missed and will enjoy by recommitting yourself to the Master’s will for your life.

Seek – a rebirth of the Spirit in your own life, no matter your age or Christian experience.

Find – God’s righteousness and grace and the new life that comes from being reborn in Jesus.

Resounding Themes:

Washed in the Salvation of Christ
Righteousness of God
Stirring the Spirit
Surrender

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

John 3:5-10

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

Who is Nicodemus? By what John tells us about him, what can we assume about his character? Demeanor? Power? What are the circumstances in which he comes to Jesus? Does this surprise you?

What are some of the indications that Nicodemus is wrestling with who Jesus is? When probed for proof, what response does Jesus give Nicodemus? How does he respond to his seemingly bizarre answer?

Jesus continues to explain that the rebirth is not just physical but spiritual as well. How is this life different than the one Nicodemus already knows? What will he have to do in order to change and become like a newborn to see the kingdom of God?

Do you know someone who claims to be in the kingdom of God, but needs open heart surgery for them to fully experience a new life in Christ? Are you that person? Just as Nicodemus, what will it take for you to be reborn again into Jesus and fully devoted to him?

Ready, Set, PRAY

Lord, come into our hearts and do Your mighty work! Make us righteous with the indwelling of Your Spirit, and grant us a new birth into image of Jesus. Breath Upon us Your fresh Wind and make us young and shapeable once again!

Have Thine own way Lord, Have Thine own way
Thou art the Potter, I and the clay
Mold me an make Thee after Thy Will

In Christ, AMEN.

Making Ripples

2007-01-24T13:14:00.000-08:00

Everything continues in a state of rest unless it is compelled to change by forces impressed upon it. - Issac Newton, First Law of Motion.

Causing people, systems, theories to change from one way to another is almost and impossible task. Yet, as we know, once the raindrop of change falls onto the steady surface of the status quo, some amazing things can result. Take for instance this story about the humble potato and how it go its start into the popular diet. This excerpt was taken from Bits & Pieces, Jan 9, 1992, pp 13-15.

It is hard to believe now, but the potato was once a highly unpopular food. When first introduced into England by Sir Walter Raleigh, newspapers printed editorials against it, ministers preached sermons against it, and the general public wouldn't touch it. It was supposed to sterilize the soil in which it had been planted and cause all manner of strange illnesses--even death.

There were, however, a few brave men who did not believe all the propaganda being shouted against it. It was seen as an answer to famine among the poorer classes and as a healthful and beneficial food. Still, these few noblemen in England could not persuade their tenants to cultivate the potato. It was years before all the adverse publicity was overcome and the potato became popular.

A Frenchman named Parmentier took a different tack. He had been a prisoner of war in England when he first heard of the new plant. His fellow prisoners protested the outrage of having to eat potatoes. Parmentier, instead, thoughtfully inquired about the methods of cultivating and cooking the new food. Upon his return to France, he procured an experimental farm from the Emperor, in which he planted potatoes. When it was time to dig them, at his own expense, he hired a few soldiers to patrol all sides of his famous potato patch during the daytime. Meanwhile he conducted distinguished guests through the fields, digging a few tubers here and there, which they devoured with evident relish.

At night, he began to withdraw the guards. A few days later one of the guards hastened to Parmentier with the sad news that peasants had broken into the potato patch at night, and dug up most of the crop. Parmentier was overjoyed, much to the surprise of his informant, and exclaimed, "When the people will steal in order to procure potatoes, their popularity is assured."

What an amazing ripple that started from one man’s belief that things could be different – much less even better – because he chose to have the eyes of a visionary…and now, how long can you go without eating French fries?!?!

A similar ripple went out through the world in the first century, as followers of the martyred and resurrected Christ began to teach the people that citizenship with the nation of Israel was no longer a marker of salvation. Instead, a new brand of religion, irrespective of lineage, gave the opportunity for EVERYONE to become heirs of the kingdom of heaven. And like a small pebble penetrating the surface of a still pond - like fire in dry stubble - Christianity took hold, and churches in every corner of the world have been making waves in the kingdom ever since.

As our church stands on the precipice and looks out a new year, we have much to be grateful for. We stand on the shoulders of over 151 years of steadfastness in our community. God has brought many people our way over the years, and our building renovations a stirring everyone’s soul with excitement – but this is not enough. No, we want to do more and be more for God in 2007. And like a small pebble in the pond of North Dallas, Lord, would we make waves for the kingdom!

As you worship this week:

Meditate – on how God has used local churches throughout their history to make great changes in the world around them.

Contemplate – the ways you see the church becoming more effective in the coming year.

Seek – the Lord’s favor for you/your church family and your/their ability to be agents of change in the world.

Find – a way to embrace what God is doing and become a part of His plan.

Resounding Themes:

Vision for the World
Knowing Jesus, Our Guide
May the Gentle Shepherd Lead

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

Acts 2:42-47

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

What is the scene that leads up to this passage in Acts 2:42-47? What specific things are incredible about these events? How does Peter capture the moment and bring the people’s hearts toward God? What is their response?

As the church is born, what are some of its initial responses to great change? How were things to be different than before? Did these differences threaten or worry some? How?

How are you and the change-o-meter of life? Are you able to adapt quickly or do you, like Sir Isaac Newton stated, stay still and struck until forced to do otherwise? How do you feel God calling you to make waves for His sake? How can your small ability to change effect ripples to become waves for God?

Ready, Set, PRAY

God, we acknowledge You, O Mighty Sovereign. Your timing is a wonder. Your ways, beyond tracing. Your activity in the world – undeniable. We stand in awe of your majesty and we cry HOLY!

Lord, give us the hearts for change. Stir in our souls the passion of a pioneer seeking a new land. Rouse our courage to conquer the feared and overtake the threatening. Allow us to see new visions and dream new dreams. Grant us true Pentecostal fervor, as that burned in hearts of those early believers.

Lord, we will risk all for Your Name’s sake, and we elevate the cross as our banner. And it’s in Jesus’ name we find ourselves equal to such a task. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Active Pateince

2007-01-17T14:41:00.000-08:00

Well, after a full month off from my discipline of the Ready, Set, Worship! ritual, I have dutifully returned! Thanks for your patience as I’ve taken the holidays off. Speaking of patience – a nice segue to be sure – read the following quotes on the topic of patience.

How can a society that exists on instant mashed potatoes, packaged cake mixes, frozen dinners, and instant cameras teach patience to its young? - Paul Sweeney

Patience is something you admire in the driver behind you and scorn in the one ahead. - Mac McCleary

Patience is the ability to count down before you blast off. - Author Unknown

You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance. - Franklin P. Jones

Genius is nothing but a great aptitude for patience. - George-Louis de Buffon

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish. - John Quincy Adams

Patience is the companion of wisdom. - St. Augustine

How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees? - William Shakespeare, Othello, 1604

Experience has taught me this, that we undo ourselves by impatience. Misfortunes have their life and their limits, their sickness and their health. - Michel de Montaigne

One moment of patience may ward off great disaster. One moment of impatience may ruin a whole life. - Chinese Proverb

And my personal favorite…

Patience is also a form of action. - Auguste Rodin

I’m not so sure we believe this last one, for when we are patient, we tend to believe it to be inactivity, passiveness, weakness, and idleness. Yet, when it comes to the biggest things, more patience – an active patience – seems to be required: the perfect diamond, the well-raised child…the salvation of the world

As you ready yourself for worship this week, think about the virtue of patience in the Christian life. Meditate on how being patient in a matter has actually been a form of action rather than inactivity. Contemplate on the amount of patience God displayed in bearing with the world before the coming of Christ, and the patience He still exercises today with our own inability to see the Light clearly. Pray that God would grant you the full understanding of patience…grasping it as His activity!

Resounding Themes:

A Message of Hopefulness
Salvation Is God’s and In His Time
Omnipresence of God in all activities

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

Colossians 1:3-14

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- As Paul writes, what tone do you sense in his opening thoughts? How did they become Christians in the first place? What does he ask for them in their faith? Indeed what greater thing has happened because they believed?

- What does Paul mean when he tells them that they understood the gospel in ALL its truth? What might be a half-gospel, or less full gospel? How might they be protected from such falsity?

- Paul uses the images of strength and endurance when he talks about the idea of patience. Do these sound like wimpy, passive activities? In fact, what does he say the end of these patient acts is?

- How have you been actively patient in the past? Have you ever looked at patience in a negative, unfruitful light? What part of life/faith do we miss when forego being patient?

Ready, Set, PRAY

Holy Lord, You are good and Your love endures today. What patience You have shown to the nations! From impatient Israel to us today, You have exercised both relentment and overwhelming benevolence – both measures of your great love and patience.

And so, Father, we pray that in Your great power and love, You would grant us Your patience, as we convince the world of Your supremacy and await the future glory that is to come! Lord, make us active in prayer, in salvation, and in patience. In Christ’s name. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Sing Over Me

2006-12-13T13:43:00.000-08:00

In October, we celebrated the birth of our 3rd child. Even though it had only been 3 short years since our middle child was born, I was shocked at how quickly my “baby muscles” atrophied. In some ways, it was a completely new learning process. In some ways, the second time around was not as big of a deal, as our first two children were only 18 months apart. But this time, now with a son, it’s as though I’m a newbie. The weary, bag-laden eyes, the tired backs, the simple house chores going undone…for weeks on end…man, it’s time to take out the trash!!!

But one thing that I can do, quite literally in my sleep, is get our babies ready for sleep. From the very first night we brought our oldest child home from the hospital, I have made it my job to put the babies in the crib. Many times, this routine begins with burping (the baby, that is), and then I wrap the child up in a blanket tightly like a delicate tamale. Then, I put the baby on my shoulder, and stroll around the house. As I walk, in spend most of the time praying – praying that our child will be safe and strong and that he will grow in favor with the Lord. Other times, I just tell God thank you over and over for the blessing the life in my gentle grasp. But still, other times, I sing a song over my child that will be both calming and instructive. I delight in this time, and nothing I can think of draws a parent closer to a child than when they sing over them.

Do you realize it is the same for God? In Zephaniah, we see a picture of the mighty Jehovah that brings us back to the image of an infant, when the prophet refers to God as one who sings over his children rather than rebuking them. And surely, God sang a powerful song the night His own son was born into the world – that Jesus Christ was the one foretold about for all of history to save the world. When God sings a song over his children, it certainly is something special!

In your worship this week, picture the image of the parent holding the child and singing over them. As you do, put yourself in both roles and feel the feelings of each. Next, meditate on yourself being the child and God as the parent. Finally, picture in you mind the incredible sons that God sang over Jesus that night in Bethelehem.

Resounding Themes:

Rejoicing with Singing
A Delighted Father God
Baby Jesus, Our Savior

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

Zephaniah 3:17

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- What side of God does the prophet first portray about God? Why is this image important for him to communicate? How are the terms “warrior” and “save” connected?

- What does it mean for God to take delight in his children? Have you every taken delight in a/your child? Explain? How did it make you feel? Was there anything you wouldn’t do for that child in that moment?

- The prophet explains that in his love, God would no longer rebuke his child, Israel. Why do you think God has been in the business of rebuking his holy nation? Have you ever had to strongly rebuke a child? Have you ever been rebuked for acting badly?

- Finally, Zephaniah paints the beautiful picture of God singing and rejoicing over his children. Have you ever had that opportunity before? Is it hard to imagine God in such a position? What type of song do you think God sang to his baby boy Jesus as he slept on the night of his birth? What song does God sing over you?

Ready, Set, PRAY

Lord God, our hearts are filled with songs of praise! You have placed within us a spirit of praise whose object is You and You alone. For this, we give thanks and pour out our hearts in devotion.

And Father, we know that You are devoted to us, in ways too deep to completely fathom. Surely, You are our Father, and we are Your helpless children – and in our helpless need, O God, You sing songs of comfort, joy, strength, instruction, grace, and peace over us until all is right.

Lord, we don’t’ want to move from Your sweet embrace or the nearness of Your face. And so, as You draw near to us, invite us to draw near to You – as a child to a parent. And as we do, sing over us once again, Your amazing song!

In Christ’s name. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Prepare Ye the Way of the Houseguests!!

2006-12-05T09:16:00.000-08:00

Have you ever gone to great lengths to prepare your house for guests?

I confess, we are in the throws of it right now. For, you see, we are having a dinner party for about 30 at our house on Saturday night!! Oh, the preparations! To date, we have already put up the Christmas tree, decorations, and the outside light show (though not as ornate as some on our street!!). Now, we are going through the motions of moving furniture, cleaning every nook and cranny, finding a way for our humble home to contain all of the guests that will descend in just a matter of days.

And so much has to be planned, don’t you know. It’s not just a simple as telling everyone to bring a sack lunch and wrapped gift. Oh, no…there is a menu to be planned, games to be set-up, entertainment to orchestrate, and baby-sitting. By the time we plop into bed on Saturday night, we will have spent an incredible amount of preparation for just two short hours of fun, fun, fun!

PS – I really am looking forward to it!!

For centuries, the prophets pointed to a time when a Messiah would come to redeem Israel and save the world. Their ministry to the people on behalf of God was to prepare the nations for such an event. Even as late as the time of Malachi, the talk of redemption was still on the lips of Judah. Then, some 4 centuries later, the prophecy was fulfilled, and as John the Baptist comes on the scene, he makes it his mission to preach the baptism of forgiveness and to turn people’s hearts to repentance. In that way, he was preparing the world for the ministry of Jesus. In fact, we know from Paul’s writings that God had been preparing the way for His Messiah all along, and at just the right time in history – far be it from us to know when, where, and why – Christ came and died for the ungodly that we might be saved.

In your worship this week, think about what level of preparation it took to put your heart in a right place to receive the Messiah. Meditate on ways you continually prepare a welcome place for him in your life. Seek God’s favor on those you have contact with who have yet to receive the Savior in their own hearts, and pray that God would prepare them for His coming.

Resounding Themes:

Our Savior, the Christ Child
God’s Salvation
A Heart for the World

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

Malachi 3:1-4
Luke 3:1-6

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- In Malachi, what good news does the prophet bring to the people? Why might this news be received warmly amongst the recipients? Yet, even in the coming of the Almighty, what difficult news is coupled with joy? What service will the Lord render against the people? Why is this a necessary act for His will to continue? What does the Lord have to say about Israel’s current sacrifices and offerings? Why are they currently unacceptable?

- In Luke, we are introduced to another prophet, called John the Baptist. What is he doing as we meet him in the text? What explanation does he give for his actions? How has he used Old Testament prophecy to explain the present day? To whom does he refer?

- Just as the prophets paved the way for the Messiah to come to earth, so too, he has made his way into our hearts. How is your life different because of the coming of the Savior? What hills were leveled and valleys raised for him to have a way into your life? In turn, what can we do in order to smooth the path for the Savior to enter the lives of those we love?

Ready, Set, PRAY

God, what a great preparer You are! For everything we see, and so much we cannot, is the evidence of Your genius, design, and planning. Your masterful preparations have brought forth light where there was darkness, substance where there was void, and life where there was none.

God, we thank you for preparing the way for your son Jesus. Thank you for preparing and arranging history in such a manner to allow Christ to have the greatest effect in accordance to Your will. Thank you for preparing the hearts of those early followers who believed and obeyed the Gospel and brought it forth to this present day. Thank you for cultivating Your own message of salvation in our own hearts, that we too might accept the Messiah into out hearts. And thank you for straightening the paths, lowering the mountains, and raising the valleys for Your son to enter into the heart of every man, woman, and child of present day.

Lord, as this season is upon us, would You do Your preparing work once again, as we receive the baby Jesus into our lives anew, and seek to prepare his entrance into the lives of those we love who have yet to meet him. This is Your servant’s prayer. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Thankful, Sanctified, and Spirit-Filled

2006-11-15T08:28:00.000-08:00

The Thanksgiving season is upon us! It seems like only last week that the family dusted off their swimsuits and headed for our neighbor’s pool. However, today, one week before Turkey Day, it is 50 degrees with a blustery 30mph North wind. Burrrr!!!

For many of us, Thanksgiving brings back a host of wonderful memories or family gatherings, incredible food and treats, lazy afternoons of football and card games – only to be followed up with even more good food! Yes, Thanksgiving is a time when we say “thanks” to God for his bounty of blessings, both physical and emotional.

But have you ever spent time thanking God for the gift of His Spirit? Few can argue the incredible power that comes to a Christian by way of the Spirit that indwells all who claim Jesus as Lord, but even far fewer, it seems, can give an accurate detail as to just what the Spirit does for/with/through us everyday.

As Paul closes out his first correspondence to the to the church in Thessalonica, he has one prayer in particular for the young, zealous church – that the Spirit’s fire would not be extinguished. All of us have felt at one time or another in our lives the fire of the Spirit. That fire may have carried us into deeper levels of devotion, granted us courage to share our faith with a perfect stranger, or even to face the most dangerous of temptations with fervor and commitment. All of these activities and many more are the direct work of God’s Spirit living in us. However, for as many times as we’ve felt that holy urge, we’ve also suppressed and quenched that flame until a bonfire became an ember.

In regard to keeping the Spirit’s fire alive within us, F.C. Williamson had this to say:

The sea can only be kept heaped up in waves by the constant pressure of the wind. Take away the pressure and it soon flows back into its old level. If we want, therefore, to get water to keep a higher level, we must do it by filling up underneath. Apply this to our hearts. If we want the tone of our hearts and lives to rise to a really higher level, to be more Christ-like, more peaceful, more holy, it must be done by filling up, not merely agitating the surface by excitements and emotions. We may get great waves in this way, but we shall have great hollows between them if we do, and a great commotion perhaps, but no real gain. For it is God's grace in the heart, the gradual filling up of all our needs and deficiencies by the Holy Spirit of God, which can alone raise our hearts and lives to a higher level of purity and holiness. As we cast off bad habits, we need to be acquiring good ones in their places; as we are stirred up by sermons and services to wish to live more holy lives, we need to be acting as well as wishing rightly if we want to get on. And this is no hopeless, heartless task, for the Lord's promises are ever sure.

In your worship this week, meditate on Paul’s admonition to keep the Spirit’s fire alive in your hearts. Contemplate on ways you can point to in your life that Holy Spirit has had direct control and intervention. And with the Thanksgiving week upon us, spend ample time thanking God for the outpouring of His Spirit and that the Spirit would serve as wind upon the waves of your heart.

Resounding Themes:

Thankfulness
God’s Faithfulness
Power of God’s SpiritSanctification

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

1 Thessalonians 5:19-24

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- Paul’s statement is quite clear…”Do not put out the Spirit’s fire.” Why do you think he is so direct in his charge to the Thessalonians? What effect is the Spirit exerting in the life of this young church? What might happen if that effect dwindled or went away entirely? Have you ever felt the flame of the Holy Spirit flicker or even extinguish in your own life?

- Paul also instructs them to use the Spirit to test prophecies of men? Why would they even give any time to man’s prophecies? On the other hand, why would they be tempted to accept them all whole-heartedly? Have you ever been faced with something that someone said, and tempted to accept it as a word from God? What did you do? What can you do?

- What does it mean to be sanctified? Why does Paul decide to use that phrase here, and ask that it happen, “through and through?” Have you been sanctified, through and through? If not, what hold you back from receiving the full cleansing of Jesus?

Ready, Set, PRAY

Lord God, we ask that Your Holy Spirit rain down. Oh, Comforter and Friend, how we need Your touch again! Holy Spirit rain down. Let Your power fall. Let Your voice be heard. Come and change our hearts as we stand on Your Word. Holy Spirit, rain down!!

God, we thank You for the deposit of Your Spirit into our lives. It is the mark and seal of our inheritance in You. It serves as our conduit of constant communication to Your very heart. The Spirit leads our footsteps and retells Your will into our souls. It is our comfort, our companion, and our courage.

Father, would You once again, sanctify us through and through so that Your Spirit might find a comfortable place in the temple of our bodies. And Great Shepherd, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One that we might be pure and blameless unto the day of Christ Jesus. For we ask it in His most precious name. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Is Your Hair Combed?

2006-11-08T10:59:00.000-08:00

Don Hussong shares this story:

After church, where she had been taught about the Christ’s reutrn, a little girl was quizzing her mother.

"Mommy, do you believe Jesus will come back?"

"Yes,” the mother replied.

"Today?" inquired the girl.

"Yes,” loving replied the mother.

"In a few minutes?" the girl insisted impatiently.

"Yes, dear," the mother answered.

The little girl screwed up her face and began to think. After a few moments, her expression gave way to joy as the little exclaimed, "Mommy, would you comb my hair?"

Cute story, but where are you when it comes to thinking about the Second Coming? As our live bustle on, moving faster and faster, I confess, it is very easy for me to lose sight of Jesus’ return to claim his own. It’s not that I don’t believe it will happen, or even that I shouldn’t concern myself with it; rather, it has more to do with the fact that I have my eyes fixed on the now rather than forever.

As Paul writes to his beloved church in Thessalonica, he has many things on his heart – not the least of which was to remind them to keep their eyes on the prize of eternal life. Many who lived in those days believed whole-heartedly that Christ would return in their lifetime. To that end, they lived their lives in such a way as to portray expectation and anticipation. And to increase their faith and restore their hope, Paul tells them that we will “rise to meet the Lord in the air, and so, we will be with the Lord forever!” Paul told them to keep the message of Christ’s return on their lips that they might be constantly encouraged, no matter what trail lay ahead.

As we live our lives of worship this week, remind yourself about the Second Coming, and what it means that Christ will return. Enumerate the emotions that surround this thought and what you imagine it will be like. Contemplate the fullness of an eternity with the risen Christ, and the futility of a life focused only on the now. Finally, just as the little girl decided upon hearing of the Second Coming, get your hair combed!

Resounding Themes:

Maranatha! Lord Come Quickly!Christ’s Death for Us
Speaking Encouragement

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

What is Paul’s tone throughout this letter to the Thessalonians? In the opening parts of vvs. 13 ff? What seems to be going on in the community? Why does Paul seem intent on giving those are experiencing death a word of instruction? What is that message?

What place will those who have died in the Lord before he returns have on Judgment Day? Why does Paul emphasize that we will not precede them? As persecution of the church continues, why is a message of hope so powerful and timely for the Thessalonians to hear?

What can we infer from the words Paul uses to describe Christ’s return? Is it realistic to be constantly excited about Jesus coming back to claim his Church? Why or Why not? Paul implores the people to have this conversation on their lips as a constant reminder and encouragement. Would your day be any different if you always thought about the joy of Jesus’ return? What hope might come to you in an already hectic world?

Ready, Set, PRAY

O Lord, our Lord – how majestic is Your Name in all the earth! For Yours is the Name above all names…that at the very speaking of it, all the nations tremble and bow low in Your presence. And it is also at the name of Jesus that we bow, as we confess that He is Lord of lords and King of kings! He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, and He is coming again!

Jehovah who is quick to save, may our lives be a living testimony of the reality we hold so dear – that Christ Jesus is raised from the dead, He sits at the right hand of the Father, and that He’s coming back to claim His own…we who are cleansed in the whelming stream of His blood. Lord, take our gaze off of this world which is temporal, and fix them on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith. May we never lose sight of the coming, victorious Christ!

Maranatha! Lord, come quickly!! Amen.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

The Power of Hope

2006-11-01T08:57:00.000-08:00

Have you ever thought how powerful hope can be?

On Chuck Smith's radio broadcast, "The Word for Today,” a story was told about an interesting Scientific experiment. For means of testing, a group of behavioral Scientists set out to find quantitative data on the emotion of hope and its effects on the psyche. In order to accomplish their mission, they placed a designation of wharf rats in a tank of water, and observed them to see how long they would survive before drowning (NOTE – this experiment was done many years ago, well before any popularized animal cruelty laws were established – do not try this at home!).

The average rat lasted only 17 minutes.

Even though these animals were very familiar with swimming and tides, when faced with the prospect that every possible escape from the tank was non-existent, they simply gave up and took their own lives.

Perplexed, the scientists repeated the experiment; however, this time, as it appeared the point of drowning was near, they "rescued" the rats from the tank, dried them off and returned them to their cages. Here, they fed them well, let them play for a few days, and then decided to repeat the drowning experiment.

To their astonishment, the experiment went much differently, as the average survival time for these rats increased from 17 minutes to 36 hours!

At the end of the experiment, the behavioral scientists explained that the only explanation for the phenomenon the second time around, was that the group of rats that had been saved survived much longer because of hope. In short, because they had been saved before, they had hope that allowed them to endure.

In your worship this week, think about these three concepts: faith, hope, and love. Meditate on how each one serves as a motivator to do/achieve certain things. Contemplate a life without these three things…especially hope, and what it might look like. Celebrate the joy of the Lord and speak aloud the great things he has done and continues to do for you and yours. Entreat the Lord for a blessing on this fine church and ask that we might all have the endurance of hope necessary to navigate the coming changes.

Resounding Themes:

Celebration
God’s Grace, Christ’s Peace
Faith, Hope, and Love
Endurance

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

1 Thessalonians 1:1-3

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

From the opening words of this letter, what parties are introduced? Why do you think there are three people mentioned as addressers rather than just Paul himself? What mouthful does Paul convey by calling them a church “in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ?”

Paul finishes this introduction with a simple phrase: Grace and Peace to you. Is that just a slogan for Paul, or does it mean something much more? In Paul’s life alone, how has grace and peace played a vital role? Have you experienced grace and peace in your own life? How has it changed the way you live?

Does Paul and his trio seem to have affection or revulsion for this church? How is that evident in these few verses? Why does Paul remind them that they are constantly in his prayers? How do you react when you find out someone has been fervently prating for you?

Paul commends them for acts of faith, labors of love, and the endurance of hope? Can you think of another time when Paul uses these three concepts in a letter to a church? Which does he say is the greatest? Even so, why is hope so powerful? What had the endurance of hope given Paul the ability to do/survive? Can you think of a time in your own life when hope pulled you through or lifted you to a higher place? Explain?

Ready, Set, PRAY

God, we celebrate Your majesty this day! As the seasons change around us, are eyes bear witness to an everlasting truth…You are God alone! And just as the leaves submit to the shift of the weather, so too, our hearts bow low in full view of Your awesomeness.

Lord, we profess that our hope is in You. You grant us grace and peace beyond what we could possibly deserve, and renew us for Your work and Your purpose.

From early in the morning, until late at night, our only hope is in You.

We rest comfortably in this truth. We labor dutifully in this faith. We serve joyfully in this love. We endure any hardship because of this hope.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Established In Love

2006-10-11T09:06:00.000-07:00

What is the deepest love you’ve ever felt in this life.

Beyond a doubt, I love my wife of 8+ years more than I could ever express in a lifetime of words. As do many couples, our love journeys through pain and pleasure, need and plenty, valleys and summits…but through it all, we continue to love more deeply and stronger than we did the day before.

I also love my children with all of my being. This past week, my wife gave birth to a beautiful baby boy! This being our third child, it seems as though some of the wonder and mystery has worn off of the birthing experience. That date was calculated and known well in advance. Instead of a fever-pitched drive to the emergency room in the middle of the night, we got up, showered, drove leisurely to the hospital, calmly filled out our paper work, and proceeded to put on the blue paper clothes that leave one a bit exposed to the elements. Even the tone in the operating room was casual and jovial. The staff of 10 that was attending to my wife were engrossed in a hilarious game of “name that child,” as we had informed them that nobody yet new the coming baby’s name.

And then in came. “30 seconds,” one of the doctors exclaimed, as the tone in the room grew more focused and intentional. Silence erupted as from no where as we waited for our boy to arrive. The, over the clanging of metal utensils and the gurgle of suction came the sound every expectant parent longs to hear… “Whah! Whah! Whah!” bellowed something angrily from the other side of the green cloth shroud. As I peeked over, I saw my son for the first time…pink, sticky, smooshed, and beautiful!

How deep a love I have for my son, even though these first few nights at home have been sleep deprived and testing of the senses. As I look into his dependent face, I see peace, trust, mystery, and wholeness. I wonder now it is possible that I love something so deeply as I do this baby. I contemplate a lifetime yet to be lived with him at my side, both learning and teaching me more about God.

Can we possibly fathom how much love Jesus has for us? Certainly, we can look to our own relationships for glimpses of what is must be like, but can we truly grasp – as the Apostle Paul says – how wide and how deep Christ’s love is for us, His church? Indeed, fellowship with the Creator of the universe is an amazing place to be, and as we experience it in community with one another, we get an even greater peek into the reality that Christ would have us experience in fellowship with him!

In you worship this week, praise God daily for the great blessing your church family is to you and in your life. Meditate on the fullness and wideness of Christ’s love for the Church, and what he would have her to be in the world. Imagine Highland Oaks Church of Christ on the other side of the coming changes…resplendent and welcoming. Picture what a city on a hill truly looks like in the kingdom, and how Highland Oaks could carry that mission out in Dallas.

Resounding Themes:

Fellowship in the Midst of God
Being Rooted In Love
The Lost as Our Inheritance

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

Ephesians 3:16-19

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- As Paul writes to the church in Ephesus, what is the tone of what he has to say? Is it evident in the way he writes what feelings he has for them? What type of relationship is characterized here? Do you have that kind of relationship with anyone? How do you speak to them?

- Paul’s prayer from the Ephesians begins with what blessing? Why would the Spirit be most valuable in the life of this young church? Paul refers to God’s riches as “glorious.” Would you agree? How has God bestowed those riches on you?

- The idea of love seems to be the glue by which Paul anticipates the Ephesian church will survive and thrive. How powerful is love in connection with community? Can you relate a time when the church’s love for you was expressed in such a way as to make a huge impact? What does it mean to be filled with the fullness of God?

- As we approach the precipice of great change at our church, why is Paul’s prayer incredibly relevant for us today? Is it possible for us to accomplish our goals without the fullness of God and the love of Christ within our hearts? Why is it so incredibly important that we now, at this juncture, rise with one voice and one purpose before the world?

Ready, Set, PRAY

We cry “holy” in your presence, O God! For You are majestic and exalted above the nations. There is none like You – for who on earth could love us in the manner You do? As a parents love their child, so too, You love us beyond measure.

Father, we know that it is Your desire that the Church serve as an extension of Your love and faithfulness here on earth. To that end, O Lord, fill us with Your Spirit in our inner beings, so that we too would be rooted in love as we enter a world desperately in need. Fix us for the task by implanting Christ in our hearts and His nature in our hands and feet. God, take this great church to even greater levels of greatness!

This we pray humbly, for Your glory alone. Amen.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

The Power of Place

2006-10-04T08:09:00.000-07:00

Can you think of specific rooms in your life where powerful, memorable things happened?

I can think of being in my grandmother Berry’s kitchen in Oklahoma. Growing up, all of our families assembled at my grandparent’s house for major holidays. I have incredibly fond memories of being there with dozens of my cousins, aunts and uncles, playing canasta in the breakfast area, eating chocolate chip ice cream at the bar, or smelling the pungent aroma of hand-made cornbread stuffing on Thanksgiving.

When I think of rooms, I look back fondly to the front sitting room at my in-laws. The room was, at that time, equipped with a baby grand piano to accommodate my mother-in-law’s piano teaching business. I remember on December 27th, 1997, at 11:27pm, how I lead my girlfriend into that room after everyone went to bed, sat down at the piano, sang her a song I had written about my love, and asked her to marry me. After the incredible shock set in…she said yes!

One room that I will not soon forget is a waiting room at Children’s hospital in February 2005. Early that Friday morning, my wife and I released our beautiful 2 year-old baby girl into the hands of a neurosurgical team to have brainstem surgery. As we drug ourselves back to the waiting room for what might have been an eternity, we were greeted by over hundred people off and on who had come to show their love and support for us. That room, which was otherwise a place of great pain and anxiousness was transformed into God’ place…the place where He was in our time of need.

Indeed, God has been using rooms and buildings throughout history to reveal His majesty and glory to humankind. Not the least of these places, I think we would all agree, is His houses of worship. From the vestal Temple to the wilderness tabernacle to the prayerful synagogue to the modern church, God has always been in the habit of making his presence known more vividly and tangibly in rooms where His people are gathered to worship.

The same could easily said of our fine church, as, over the past 151 years, God has done some amazing things at the various facilities Highland Oaks has resided in. And now, as we size up our aging structure and count the cost necessary to bring it to full effectiveness, we both remember what God has done as long as this building has stood, and we look forward to the continued great things He will do as we transform brick and mortar into something everlasting – a place with power!

In your personal worship this week, focus in on a memory(ies) you have of being in the Highland Oaks Church of Christ building for worship. Give God the praise and glory for the moments He’s revealed Himself more fully to you in worship. Meditate on what it would be to have an updated facility, full of the sounds of worship, able to do more and be more for those who are earnestly seeking Him.

Resounding Themes:

God’s Presence
He Is Able to Do More
Elevating Christ
The Power of Community

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

The Book of Haggai

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- As the scene unfolds, what two characters are introduced? What is the Word of the Lord that comes to Haggai? What are the people guilty of? Why specifically has this behavior caught the attention of God? What does God mean when he accuses them of putting their wages in a purse with holes? Have you ever been guilty of such a sin?

- What then does God tell the people to do? Why did He demand it of them? Because of the people’s unfaithfulness, what did God cause to happen? How did the people respond?

- As the people began to build in earnest, what promises does God make to the people? What promises does God have in store for us today? Even though the purpose of a Temple has changed, why is it equally important to do well with and maintain the excellence of where we assemble as God’s people? How could having a similar vision increase the blessing as we restructure our campus?

Ready, Set, PRAY

Lord, You are good, and Your love endures today! With the presence of Your promised Spirit, we have, as sons and daughters of the promise, received a new anointing to go into our world and proclaim the majesty of Your Name!

God, we know that You have forever been in the business of doing mighty works in rooms and buildings. What would only be brick and mortar in our hands becomes a mercy seat for Your promised presence! Father, we believe this to be no more obvious than in church buildings across the world, for as each Sunday morning, we assemble in like mind and purpose to uplift Your righteous name – the name that is above all names. Truly our house is Your house, and that house is doubly special. Lord, as we endeavor to refurbish and revitalize this facility for the purpose of further glorifying You, would You cause us once again to revive our imagination, to see our purpose more clearly, and to earnestly look toward You as our reason, vision, and mission.

God, You have seen fit that this extension of Your Son’s body has stood in Dallas for 151 years. If it be Your will, O Lord, may our efforts to reinvent ourselves for the sake of saving many continue this great church until the day of Christ. We seek Your profound blessing as we accomplish this goal. That Christ might be lifted up and in His name we pray, Amen.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Imagine the Vision

2006-09-27T08:49:00.000-07:00

Have you ever experienced the power of vision…or lack thereof?

T.E. Lawrence once said:

"All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds awake to the day to find it was all vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for the many act out their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible..."

Lynn Anderson included in one of his books that:

“About 350 years ago a shipload of travelers landed on the northeast coast of America. The first year they established a town site. The next year they elected a town government. The third year the town government planned to build a road five miles westward into the wilderness.”

In the fourth year the people tried to impeach their town government because they thought it was a waste of public funds to build a road five miles westward into a wilderness. Who needed to go there anyway?

Here were people who had the vision to see three thousand miles across an ocean and overcome great hardships to get there. But in just a few years they were not able to see even five miles out of town. They had lost their pioneering vision. With a clear vision of what we can become in Christ, no ocean of difficulty is too great. Without it, we rarely move beyond our current boundaries.

Bill Hybels tells this story about vision:

“It started like so many evenings. Mom and Dad at home and Jimmy playing after dinner. Mom and Dad were absorbed with jobs and did not notice the time. It was a full moon and some of the light seeped through the windows. Then Mom glanced at the clock. "Jimmy, it's time to go to bed. Go up now and I'll come and settle you later." Unlike usual, Jimmy went straight upstairs to his room. An hour or so later his mother came up to check if all was well, and to her astonishment found that her son was staring quietly out of his window at the moonlit scenery. "What are you doing, Jimmy?" "I'm looking at the moon, Mommy." "Well, it's time to go to bed now." As one reluctant boy settled down, he said, "Mommy, you know one day I'm going to walk on the moon." Who could have known that the boy in whom the dream was planted that night would survive a near fatal motorbike crash which broke almost every bone in his body, and would bring to fruition this dream 32 later when James Irwin stepped on the moon's surface, just one of the 12 representatives of the human race to have done so?

Finally, Bob Logan includes these poignant thoughts:

“Vision: the capacity to create a compelling picture of the desired state of affairs that inspires people to respond; that which is desirable, which could be, should be; that which is attainable. A godly vision is right for the times, right for the church, and right for the people. A godly vision promotes faith rather than fear. A godly vision motivates people to action. A godly vision requires risk-taking. A godly vision glorifies God, not people.”

As we enter into the month of October, our great church stands at the precipice of decision. The vision that the leadership has come to will be cast to the congregation beginning this Sunday and continuing for the next 5 weeks. It is a bold vision, to be sure…not for the faint-hearted or short-sighted. Indeed, the changes we will make in the coming months will cast the vision for this church for the next 25+ years. But be warned. Even though this church has eagerly pioneered throughout its 151 year history, it would be all too tempting to sit back on our laurels, and, as the great European seamen and settlers, decide that arriving at a destination meant the need for no further exploration. Instead, let us begin again, charting a path into the unknown for Highland Oaks Church!

In your worship this week, think about the idea of vision, and what great things have been done throughout history when groups of people have come together for a common cause. Contemplate on our campus and facility, and imagine the great number of people that have been blessed here over the decades and the countless scores who will be touched in the future because of the changes we will be making. Seek God’s will this week for this massive endeavor and what role(s) He will have you play in order to achieve it.

Resounding Themes:

Great God
Jesus, Who Is Able to Do More
Our Unclouded Vision

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

The Book of Haggai

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- As the scene unfolds, what two characters are introduced? What is the Word of the Lord that comes to Haggai? What are the people guilty of? Why specifically has this behavior caught the attention of God? What does God mean when he accuses them of putting their wages in a purse with holes? Have you ever been guilty of such a sin?

- What then does God tell the people to do? Why did He demand it of them? Because of the people’s unfaithfulness, What did God cause to happen? How did the people respond?

- As the people began to build in earnest, what promises does God make to the people? What promises does God have in store for us today? Even though the purpose of a Temple has changed, why is it equally important to do well with and maintain the excellence of where we assemble as God’s people? How could having a similar vision increase the blessing as we restructure our campus?

Ready, Set, PRAY

How great is our God! For You alone rule the nations and possess everything. The silver is Yours. The gold is Yours, O Lord. Not one part of Creation is not in subjection to Your sovereignty and benevolence.

God, anoint our eyes with the oil of Your awakening. Cause us to dream dreams and see visions of the wonderful things You have planned for a church faithful to Your calling and purpose. Increase our ministry of reconciliation as we beautify and enliven the place where we gather to proclaim Your holy Name.

And Lord, make us equal to the task. Grant us a singular vision, mind, purpose, strength, and desire to accomplish whatever Your will is for Highland Oaks. We covet Your blessing and seek Your glory. In Christ’s name. Amen.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

A Lesson In Unity

2006-09-20T08:42:00.000-07:00

Have you ever experienced the power of working together in unity? I ran across this inspirational story on the internet about this very idea. The following is an abridged version of Fred Walker’s story, Jump Out of Your Boat.

“There were five flounders in the box, the water was clear, and the sun was shining. It was a hot July day off the coast of New Jersey. This was one of those rare days when the water of the Atlantic Ocean was filling the bay with an incoming tide of crystal clear, almost Caribbean blue seawater. Life was good. That day my Dad and I were fishing in a deep hole on the back side of a sand bar, off of the main channel.

Navigating the waters near the inlet is a little tricky, and all of the local boaters know that there are a lot of sandbars, shoals, and shallow areas outside of the marked channels. For the unfamiliar, or unobservant boater, the shallows are traps that cause many to run aground, putting a cloud over even the sunniest of days.

Just then, I saw a Bayliner coming toward us. "I guess this looks like a good spot to fish so here he comes" I thought to myself. Then it occurred to me "I wonder if he can see that sand bar,” for between he and us was about 14 inches of water on a 20 foot wide sandbar, and the tide was going to change very soon, making it even less.

Keep in mind, the Bayliner is a fiberglass boat that is more of a floating camper in my opinion that weighs several tons out of water. With all of the comforts of home below, and very little deck space topside, these are luxury vessels, not fishing boats. The hull on this particular boat probably ran about 36 inches deep, and if the skipper didn't turn soon, they were going to become one with the sandbar.

The skipper didn't turn. They ran squarely aground at about 20 knots. We could hear the grinding of the engine as they dug themselves in deep on that sand bar. The boat listed to the port side as it came to rest, gleaming in the sun.

After a minute or two of reversing his engine and using the prop to dig a hole in the sand, the skipper got out and surveyed the situation. He tried to push the boat, but one person wasn't going to budge that hull. Finally, the other two guys onboard came out to help him. We watched as they argued and screamed and pushed and examined the boat. They looked like the three stooges out there, working against each other, and it was amusing to watch. I was certain they needed some help, so I told my Dad to bring our boat up to the sandbar, and I jumped out. Now we had the four stooges.

A strange thing happened next. Soon, another boat pulled up with two more volunteers, than another, and another. Now we had a crew, with 12 or 15 people we had a chance of making a difference for these folks if we could only achieve unity and work together. We had to work fast because when the tide changed in an hour or so this bayliner was going to be high and dry.

Somehow, I got elected Forman on this job (the result of being there first I am sure), and after some convincing, I persuaded everyone to adapt my idea on how to get the boat off of the sand bar. To move the boat we had to use the tide to our favor. With 14 inches or so of water the Bayliner still had a little buoyancy. I had the skipper and one of his buddies go onboard. Directed to sit on the stern of the boat the two guys onboard worked as counter weights making the bow come up a little. The rest of us put our shoulders against the bow and pushed like a football team on a blocking sled. The bow moved, a foot or so. At last, with a final shove, the vessel was afloat in the deep hole that we had earlier been fishing in, on the back side of the sandbar. We were all “high-fiving” each other, and celebrating our accomplishment when the skipper shouted from his boat "hey you guys is there anything I can do for you?" For a moment no one said a word, but then I shouted back, “remember the power of unity next time you see someone stuck and in need of help!”

Indeed, we had pulled together on that sandbar that day in July. With a common goal, some creativity, and collective strength we accomplished something that was impossible for any of us to have done working as individuals. It’s amazing to think how much can be done when people are unified for a common purpose.”

As we read John 17, we find the Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane, praying to His Father about the coming hours that would ultimately be his last. Yet, with all the peril that awaited him, the one thing most pressing on his consciousness was his disciples and their ability to stay strong after his death. As Jesus pray for unity, we see true unfettered heart of the Messiah humbled before the Father. His prayer extended not only to those with him whom he loved, but to his Church today.

In your worship this week, contemplate the idea of unity and what it is to work together for a common goal. Conceptualize what it would be for this church to work in tandem, as those boaters did in the above story, to move a mountainous object in comparison to themselves. Meditate on Jesus words as he pleads for those who would come after him to show that same type of unity as, together, they move the world closer and closer to a full knowledge of him.

Resounding Themes:

The Oneness of God
Unity
Christ’s Reign Over Our Lives
Common Cmmunion

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

John 17

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- After reading the entire prayer, what strikes you the most about it? What do we learn about the relationship between Jesus and God? What specific power that Jesus cites has been given him? What, indeed, is eternal life?

- Before Jesus prays for the world at large, he interceded specifically for the disciples. Why? Why does Jesus seem to be praying this very intimate prayer directly in front of the disciples? Besides Jesus’ death, what is coming for the disciples in the future?

- After begging the Father for “his own,’ he next prays for the entire world – that they might know God. How is this idea different than the world had ever known prior to Jesus?

- What analogy does Jesus cite over and over to reinforce his desire for his disciples? The Church? The world? In the end, why is unity so important? What dies Jesus imply that can be gained by operating in unity with one another?

Ready, Set, PRAY

O Righteous Father! It is our prayer that we all be one in Christ Jesus, just as You are one. Our desire is for a relationship strong with You that the whole world will see and know that Your love is upon us. We pray that we remain strong in the face adversity – clinging to Jesus and each other as our source of strength. God, we know that opposition will come, and that there will be times when our unity will be fractured against one another. Father, in such times, would You mend our brokenness and restore to us the joy of Your salvation, that our witness might be strong and visible and unwavering.

Lord God, we know that Your fullness is Your Oneness. For in Your fullness You offered Your Son and left the deposit of Your Spirit. Yet, in Your Oneness, You remain the faithful God – unchanging and ever-present. In that power, shore-up this Church for the tasks that lay ahead, the we might bring others to a fuller awareness of You, and that we all might be with Jesus, our Savior. In him wee pray and find our unity.

AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Lose Everything...Gain Even More!

2006-09-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had to lose one thing in order to have something else in exchange?

Do you remember the old “Let’s Make A Deal” TV game show? People would dress up in the craziest costumes imaginable just to make it into the studio audience. Once in the audience, however, you were more than a spectator…you were a potential contestant! If the game show host chose you from amongst the turbulent crowd, he might ask you to trade a bauble you’d brought for what’s in one of his pockets. If you chose correctly, you got the $100 bill instead of the pair of old dentures. Then he might offer to trade that newly acquired $100 bill for what was in the red box or the green one. Again, if you chose correctly, you would receive the Console Color TV instead of the life-sized plastic poodle. Then, if you were really lucky, the host would invite you to give up that TV for a chance to see what was behind one of three doors. Behind two of those doors was sure to be a real stinker! But, behind one of those doors was certain to be a new self cleaning kitchen, or a trip to Hawaii, or, dare I say it, a new car. Torn between the guarantee of the new TV and the chance at a new automobile, the contestant would inevitably be torn and not know for certain how to choose.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus views himself in much the same way. The disciples wanted desperately to hold on to Jesus. Even as he neared his final hours of freedom, the disciples were overly consumed with the misunderstanding that Jesus was someone other than who he claimed to be. In Jesus, they had seen miracles and heard teachings not ever proffered by another man. As long as they had Jesus with them – or so they thought – they could do anything, beat anyone, and overcome any obstacle.

But Jesus knew quite better, for he told the disciples that in his absence, they would do even greater things than he had done! “How could this be?” one might inquire…by the power of the Counselor. In fact, Jesus told the disciples that if they were to trade the known quantity of the physical Messiah for the coming of the Holy Spirit of God, the most amazing things would occur! And it wasn’t but a few weeks after they let Jesus go that Pentecost occurred and the Spirit of God was given.

In turn, what are you holding on to today that keeps you from enjoying the fullness of the Spirit that comes by partnering with Christ? In your worship this week, examine your own life in the Spirit and test to see if it’s been all it can be/all you’d hoped for. Meditate on the power of the indwelling Spirit and what role it plays in the life of a believer. Be thankful to Christ for both His presence and departure, that the fullness of God might be revealed to all humankind.

Resounding Themes:

The Reign of the Spirit
Clean, Open Hearts
Glorious Jesus

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

John 15:26-16:16

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- How does Jesus first refer to the Holy Spirit? What does that term make you think of? What is one of first things the Spirit will do when he appears? Why is this important and of great comfort to the disciples? What other words/phrases does Jesus use to indicate who the Spirit is?

- Why are the disciples down-hearted? What does Jesus tell them about their misplaced grief? Why is it ‘good’ that Jesus leaves them? What is the three-fold function of the Spirit that Jesus explains?

- Jesus indicates that there is much more to be said about his departure – much more than the disciples can bear…what do you think he’s referring to? How is what will happen to the disciples a parallel to what happened to Jesus? How will the Holy Spirit assist them through these times? Does the Spirit still function in this way? If so, explain from your own experiences.

Ready, Set, PRAY

Lord, we do not know You as You are. For even as You reveal Your majesty before our eyes day after day, we lack the proper conduit necessary to take You all in. Yet, You continue in patience toward us while You methodically unveil Your worth before our senses in the creation, the giving of Your Son, Jesus, and the gifting of the Holt Spirit into the hearts of every believer. And yet we still do not know You, O God!

Lord, open our eyes to the full life that comes by living in step with the Spirit. Make know to our faculties Your power that dwells within. And righteous Father, grant us the constancy enjoyed only by having an attentive ear to the leadings and utterances of Your Spirit.

God, just as we are powerless to live without the Vine, so too are we impotent against the evil one without Your promised presence via the Spirit. We acknowledge that it took a great sacrifice of Jesus’ appearance and departure from this world for Him to be made known to us. Thank You, O Father, for giving us Your Son, and in turn, leaving Your Spirit as a deposit of our inheritance until all things have been fulfilled. In Christ, AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Breathe In, Breathe Out...Repeat!

2006-09-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been in a situation where the simplest breath was preciously coveted?

Going to college is so much different than High School. My small High School was full of familiar people, mundane activities, and an utter lack of anything spectacular. Even the sports were routine: you know, basketball, football, tennis, and baseball. However, when I went to college, I was bombarded by sports options never before seen by the small-town eye. Racquetball, field hockey, pickleball (whatever the heck that is), and bowling…it was like a hillbilly going to the big city to buy some “new duds!”
As I poured over my options for an athletic elective, something caught my eye on the “classes offered” page. Scuba diving 101. I rubbed my eyes and brought them back into focus to make sure it wasn’t a dream. Scuba diving? Were they serious? This was West Texas…there wasn’t a body of water even deep enough lay down in, much less go under and begin to swim around! Intrigued, however, I made my mark and set my calendar for scuba.

The first class was mesmerizing. We met at the university pool, which was ½ Olympic length with a 12 foot deep end. The teachers, a husband and wife team, went over every piece of equipment a scuba diver needed. The textbook (yes, scuba even has a textbook!) was filled with illustrations, charts, and definitions. The class ended with a brief demonstration in the pool by one of the teachers. We were all guardedly excited. Yet, over the next few classes, we did nothing but bookwork and swimming. In fact, we had to swim laps almost every week. And then, after almost a month of preparations and learning, we got our chance to go underwater.

I’ll never forget that day. There were 16 of us in the class by that point (many had dropped out), 10 guys, 6 girls. As we got suited up and into the shallow end of the pool, we took our first attempt at breathing from the mouthpiece. It was a strange experience. The air was cold and dry, and it tasted a bit of aluminum. Inhaling the air took a little effort, as the valve shifted from purge to flow and back to purge again. As we did so, the teachers took one last moment to tell us how important it was to continue to keep the mouthpiece between our teeth, to breath regularly, and not to panic. And then we got the signal to go under the water and breathe. I confess, I was a little unnerved on my first attempt. Maybe it was just the uncomfortable coordination of breathing with the rubber mouthpiece or the absolutely foreign sensation of taking breaths and looking out at the expanse of the deep, blue pool. As I breathed in, a sharp tone of white noise clamored out of the tank, and as I exhaled, bubbles tickled my face and made their way upward to the surface. Cool! I was scuba diving…keep in mind, it was in four feet of water in the safety of an indoor pool and surrounded by seasoned professionals…but I was doing it.

As I turned to look at some of my classmates who were also submerged, I noticed commotion in the water at the other side of the pool. Soon, I saw legs and swim trunks plopping into the water and moving toward the disturbance. Curious as to what the disorder might be, I began to surface. As I pulled off my goggles and extricated my mouthpiece, I witness one of the teachers removing a girl from the pool. She was coughing violently. There were volumes of water spewing from her mouth with every heave. Then, as quickly as it started, the girl became calm and her breathing more methodic. When she was stabilized and whisked to the nurse, the teacher said, “this is a great example of what happens when you panic and forget to breathe. The gear will do the work…if you only let it.” We all took notice and no one ever made that mistake again – including the girl who had inhaled the water. We each went on to get our certification while diving to over 60 feet in Lake Travis near Austin, Tx.

Have you ever thought about the preciousness of breath? It’s something we take for granted to the point of not even knowing we do it. On average, we breathe in, breathe out and repeat over 17,500 times a day (give or take depending on exercise), and chances are, not even one of those miraculous events graces our conscience. When we breathe, we take in precious oxygen that permeates the bloodstream and animates the tissues. When we forget to breathe, however, the body begins to shut down, systems fail and the senses dull. If given enough time, the brain will lose consciousness, and the body will lose its ability to intake oxygen and die.

Breathing is the gift of the Maker. God has built in every living creature the innate need to breathe. Yet, as true as this fact is for good health, God has also placed within us a reflex for spiritual breath - the breath of God that gives us true life and purpose. With enough training, however, we can teach the spirit to deprive itself of the much needed atmosphere of God, or we simply find an alternative source to breathe in. This week in your worship, think about the way in which you breathe…not just physically with the lungs, but spiritually with the soul. Contemplate how exhilarating it is when we take in the refreshing wind of God into our spirits, and slowly exhale his glory. Meditate on a time when you deeply inhaled the Lord and His life-giving flow. Translate your joy into praise and breathe the Lord this week.

Resounding Themes:

Breathing and Exhaling God’s Goodness
Broken and Contrite Hearts
Christ, the Highest of High
Blessing of God

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

Psalm 119:33-40

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- How much life-giving power do we attest to God’s Word? If we believe it to be much, does our daily attitude and behavior reflect it? What keeps us from accepting the truth about life and God’s role in it?

- What attitude does the Psalmist seem to have towards God’s Word? What things does he ask of God in connection to his decrees? How much of his life seems to be dependent on God’s blessing and grace?

- The Psalmist seems to “breathe” God’s laws and decrees. For you, what would it mean to inhale and exhale God? How would that change your attitude toward life? God’s Word? Parenting? Employment? Service?

Ready, Set, PRAY

God, You are the very air we breathe! Not the slightest breath that escapes our nostrils does so without your knowledge or design. How precious is each breath…as they reflect the glory and presence of You, our Maker.

Father, we want to breath more of You. Lord, it is our desire that the fresh wind of Your Spirit invade our lungs and animate our tissues, until we are one with You, as Jesus and You are one. Remind us, dear Lord, just as we are desperate for oxygen to breathe, so, too, we are dependent on the breath of Your Spirit.

As a marathon runner, would You give us a second wind, that the race might become even more enjoyable as we travel. God, please allow us an ever-increasing understanding that You are the Giver of the breath of life…and that there’s no life outside of You!

God, You are the air we breathe! And we exhale in the name of Your son Jesus.
AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Life In the Vine

2006-08-30T08:15:00.000-07:00

I am a practical man. Know me for more than 8 seconds, and you’ll probably pick up on this truth at some level. Overly practical people have their faults and strengths. On the one hand, I am not overly sentimental. Memories are good, mind you, but they can never replace the importance of the current moment. I also don’t gain internal joy from process; that is to say, if there is a way to jump from point A to point C without going through point B, I’m likely to find it. Having said that, some of my strength comes in being able to be flexible and elastic in situations where change requires quick thinking. Also, I can accomplish a great deal in half the time it would take most to do it in because of my ability to cut through processes and get right to the results.

However, a major flaw of being an overly practical person is my aversion to possessing anything without a usable function. Take antiques, for example. In my opinion, a house full of antiques is a house poised for a great garage sale! Furniture that is uncomfortable and unaccommodating has no place in my life. Or, what about garnishes on dinner plates? Granted, I love to cook, don’t misunderstand, but I’ve never understood the importance of excess parsley, radishes cut like roses, or orange slices twisted up like a pig’s tail. Show me the food!!

And what about fresh cut flowers? Now, this is a sticky wicket for me. I know that my wife dearly loves fresh flowers in the house. On occasion, I like to surprise her by bringing home a bunch of daisies or astermedias to place on the kitchen table. However, I’m guaranteed that my small investment in beauty will only last a matter of days, and then will be chunked into the trash and forgotten.

The fact is, we surround ourselves everyday with things that can’t live outside their attachment to a lifesource. Take bananas, for example. How many times have you thrown out a banana that, when you purchased it, you thought it might stay edible forever – only to go bad in a matter of days. In fact, many of the fruits and veggies we buy at the store each week will quickly succumb to decay once picked from the ground or plucked from their host plant. What about fish? Have you ever had a fish get out of the tank at the house? What happened? If that fish does not make its way back into water so it can breathe, it will surely die. Finally, think about little babies? In just 5 short weeks, we will have our third child, a boy. If for some horrible reason he was separated from us after birth, what possible chance for life would he have, accept to be close to his mother to receive the food and care that she provides?

In fact, every living thing is dependent on something/someone else to survive. As Jesus speaks to his disciples for the last time, he tells them squarely that he is the true vine that supports life, and that they are the branches which thrive from his life-giving flow. A branch that stays intertwined with the vine does well and enjoys prosperity…but the branch that tries to detach itself from the vine will go the way of those week old daisies in the vase on our kitchen table. They are for no good, but to be thrown out. Jesus knows that a time is coming soon when he will not be there to protect the ones he loves, and that the only way they will continue to survive is to hold tightly to the things he has taught them and to love one another.

In your worship this week, reflect upon the life-giving flow that comes from being in the Vine. Think about the level of care the true Gardener must afford you to remain fruitful and fit for service. Meditate on what it is to be totally dependent on Jesus as your source of life, breath, and being. Finally, consecrate yourself for the task you’ve been fit to do: bear God’s fruit in love.

Resounding Themes:

Submission to the Gardener
Dependence on God for Life
Love of Jesus
Bearing Christian Fruit

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

John 15

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- What kind of vine does Jesus say he is? What is God’s role? How are they different? What is very clear about the two types of branches he mentions? Why is the word “remain” used over and over?

- What becomes of the fruitless branches? What of the fruitful ones? Why is the treatment of the latter so important? IN the end, why do we bear fruit at all? How does Jesus display this truth in his own life?

- How does a branch (us) remain in the vine (Jesus)? What is the sum of Jesus’ commands? What is the direct seed of loving one another? What place does Jesus give to those who remain in him?

Ready, Set, PRAY

True Gardener, thank You for giving us life in the Vine of Your son Jesus! For it is through our connection with him that we derive our very life and breath. As a fish out of water or flowers cut from their plants, so are we helpless, breathless, and unable to survive without Your life-giving flow. We pray that we remain strong in you, fully attached to the sustenance You provide by the Words You have spoken to us.

And perfect us in love, O God. Show us that the righteousness You require is for us to love each other with our lives. We bless You for first modeling that for us in Your death on the cross. Thank You for showing us what greater love is, and taking us from a servant’s statue to a coheir with You in the kingdom.

There is none like You. No one else could touch our heart like You do. We could search for all eternity long, and find that there is none like You. Our life is truly in the Vine, Jesus, we pray. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

You Will NEVER Wash My Feet!

2006-08-23T11:08:00.000-07:00

Do you find that it’s generally easier to serve than to be served?

For some reason, I like to make my own salads and sandwiches. Those who quote the old proverb, “a sandwich tastes better from another hand,” clearly hasn’t met me! Oh sure, the pictures of preassembled masterpieces that stud most menus do look appealing…but quite frankly, when I want a good salad or deli sandwich, I’d much rather do the work myself. I mean, really, it’s so much trouble to line out all the details of the manner in which I like it best: bread & butter pickles, not dill; thinly sliced red onion, but not too thick; or, the first layer of greens needs to be lightly dressed before loading on the rest of the topping; croutons, onion rings and sunflower kernels on top, if you please. However, inevitably, if indeed I’m forced to bow to the salad or sandwich preparation of another, I am generally grateful and quite pleased with the outcome.
Yes, indeed, sometimes it’s hard to be served – for being served in our culture can be a signal of haughtiness or hierarchy or self-worthiness. Yet, in reality, when we choose not to be served by others, what’s really at stake is our pride. When we eagerly say, “here’s your charity,” and retort, “I won’t receive your charity,” we say in no uncertain terms that we’re too good to need others – to be in want for anything that we can’t grasp with out own two hands. Certainly, we have little problem being served a nice meal at a fancy restaurant or taking advantage of the concierge at a fine hotel, but what about accepting grace when we’ve screwed up? What about receiving benevolence during a time of need? Yes, when we serve without being served, we say in no uncertain terms that we are beyond the requirement of someone else’s offering.

In my life, I’ve been a part of, I’d say, about a dozen foot washing ceremonies. Some of them have been in the privacy of a home with just a few present, and some in a larger worship setting. If you’ve never been a part of something like that, I pray that you at least have the opportunity one time in your life to see if not participate in something similar. Inevitably, there are a few categories of people who emerge during a foot washing: 1) those who are eager to wash someone’s feet, 2) those who are hesitant to have their feet washed because of self-consciousness about their feet, 3) and those who are unwilling altogether to participate because of their discomfort in the matter.

I remember a particular foot washing when the latter of those people really took me aback. We were washing feet in a small group setting of about 15 people. I had begun the process by modeling the procedure to a few in the group and then asking if anyone would like to participate. At once, one of the group’s members, a former elder at the congregation, took the bowl and towel and proceeded around the group washing everyone’s feet. It was a poignant moment, as all had tears in their eyes for this elderly man who had done such an act. When he was done, I felt moved to take the bowl and towel, and likewise wash his feet. As I approached him, he was humbly reluctant, saying, “no, thank you,” as I drew near. Yet, when I began to implore him to allow me the privilege of washing his feet in front of the group, his humility shifted into discomfort which quickly gave way to outright disgust. “I will not allow you to wash my feet,” he fumed. “I’m glad I could do it for everyone else…but I just don’t feel like I can let someone else do it to me.”

What sad commentary from such a godly man, but I wonder if many of us don’t act and feel the same way in our lives, when we rob people of the opportunity to serve us in ways that cause us to be humbled and pride-fallen? In John chapter 13, we see Jesus entering into the last moments of his time on earth. He spends it with, who else, but his disciples; they are sharing the Passover which Jesus transforms into a representation and fulfillment of himself. And then, in an incredible act, the master becomes the servant and rises from the table and begins to wash their feet. One can only imagine the slurry of emotions as Jesus went from Thomas, to Phillip, to Andrew…and then to Peter. What a fuss he put on! “Lord, you’ll never wash my feet!” exclaimed the ever-prideful fisherman. Then Jesus says something that cuts right into the heart of everyone who would come after him, both in that age and all ages to come. “Unless I wash you,” Jesus said, “you have no part with me.” The washing of feet was merely a symbol – something Peter couldn’t overcome with his worldly lenses in focus. Yet, what Jesus was really saying was simply this – everyone has to be served and has been served by God the Father with my (Jesus’) very presence on earth. To follow Jesus is to be served by God! For, in being served in this way, a true washing - not of the head, feet, and hands – but of the heart must occur. To accomplish this takes a confession of utter humility and denial of one’s ability to save oneself.

Sound simple…maybe so, for some. But the acceptance of grace has always been a much easier prospect than receiving it. In your worship this week, meditate on what it is in the Christian life to be both servant and served. Taking your lead from Jesus, contemplate on what it is we can learn from the Master turned servant. Rejoice in the grace you have received in being served by God and seek to become a better grace-giver with those in your sphere of influence.

Resounding Themes:

The Joy of God’s Reign
The Amazing Grace of God
Humility
Becoming a Grace-giver

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

John 13:1-17

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- Where do we find Jesus as the scene unfolds? What emotions were present? Why? Foreshadowing what Jesus is about to do, John commentates that Jesus shows his disciples the full extent of his love – what does that mean? What motions did Jesus have to go through being the foot washing? Knowing what Jesus represents to the disciples, why are his actions shocking?

- When Jesus came to Peter, how did he react? What part of what Peter says reveals he still didn’t know who Jesus was? How does Jesus respond to him? What does Peter retort?

- When Jesus was done, what did he have to say to the disciples? Why was this teaching so important to be understood? Why would the disciples blessed if they practiced what Jesus said?

- Are you eager to accept grace from others or reluctant to do so? Deep down, why do you have a difficult time receiving as opposed to giving? Have you ever hurt someone because you wouldn’t receive something given you like forgiveness? Money? Time? Love? What would Jesus say about our inability to be served by God?

Ready, Set, PRAY

Lord God, we exalt Your righteousness to the world. We hold up Your integrity and everlastingness for all peoples to see. In You is found all good qualities of man – for they came from You.

Yet, even in Your transcendence, You envisioned a way to embody all that You are in person of man. In Jesus, we have seen Your glory and the full representation of God formed in into the Creation, forever wrapped in finite, Master become servant. You serve us God…how can we understand?! In the giving of Jesus into the world, You lowered Yourself to us, descending to the level of our need. Truly You showed us how to become the servant of all.

Lord, in Your example and by Your power, we implore Your Spirit to invade our hearts and to tear down the strongholds of pride that hinder us from being serve. And God, as we are served first, may we then find blessing in doing so to others, as You have done to us

It’s in the name of the Servant of man we offer this prayer. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

The Preciousness of LIFE

2006-08-16T11:04:00.000-07:00

As we approach the 5th anniversary of 9/11, I’ve had a great many emotions regarding the latest box office release, World Trade Center. “It’s just too soon,” I’d told myself several times as I saw the previews on the TV and in the theater. Indeed, that day for America and for the world was one that will stand as a hallmark for all that’s evil and depraved in the hearts of men. The meaningless destruction of life was mesmerizing and almost, surreal. However, after reading many reviews and contemplating the 9/11 story once again, my wife and I went to see the movie this week.

I’ll be as frank as I can…it was hard to watch. As the plotline unfolded, every memory of that day came flooding into my mind, and as the horror and reality exhibited itself on the faces of the actors, they were most evidently reflected on my own. Yet, to be sure, World Trade Center is not a movie that focuses on the incalculable disaster of terrorism, but on heroism and the beauty of life. In a day where the cinematic mind can create any level of visual horror imaginable, the director chose to minimize (or at least not overplay) the disaster of falling buildings, and focus on the actual lives that were affected by the terror. In the end, the movie was an amazing commentary on the beauty of life, and a tribute to those who sacrifice to give it to us.

But 9/11 will always be a day for my family that has a tangential plot line to that of NYC and Washington DC. On the morning of 9/11, my wife and I got up and made plans to take a trip to the OB/GYN’s office in downtown Houston. You see, we hoped we might be pregnant, and after two confirmed at-home tests and a “thumbs-up” from the doctor a few weeks earlier, we were going to confirm the viability of the pregnancy by seeing the heartbeat.

It’s a procedure that millions of couples had gone through before time and time again…but this one was a little more meaningful for us, because just 4 months earlier, my wife had a miscarriage of our first baby at the exact same time as we were currently in this pregnancy. Every day since we’d learned we were pregnant again was an anxious one. Every visit was a held breath, followed by an exhale of relief when the heartbeat was found. And so, as we loaded in the car that morning, we had other things on our mind than what the day would behold.

We hadn’t rounded the corner from our subdivision, when the first collision came on the news. There was confusion as no two stations could give a report about what exactly had happened. It seemed like little more than an average news story on an average day. I remember turning the radio back to a music station moments later and continuing on our journey to the doctor’s office. However, a few minutes more, there was another interruption to report a second plane had collided with the other tower, and that it was visually confirmed to be a jetliner. Our minds began to race, and the idea of a terror plot had still not entered into our minds…I mean, how could something so bizarre happen twice. And then it came, the words of a confirmed terror plot blasted across the airwaves, and for the first time, we began to get a clear understanding about just what was going on. I remember being on the interstate, praying as we drove when President Bush came on the air from the elementary school where he was visiting. As he spoke to the nation, I wept. Every word he spoke was full of fear, concern, and resolve. The reports coming from the WTC were horrifying as the prospect of the loss of life was staggering.

And then the first tower fell. It was like listening to H.G. Well’s War of the Worlds – except it was real. My wife and I walked into the doctor’s office. There was no conversation among the patients. The two nurses were huddled around a small radio in the reception area. As we waited for our turn, the second tower fell, and there was a noticeable tension in the room. Already apprehensive and frightened by what this day held for us as a family, my wife and I were now on the edge of complete hysteria. And then our name was called. As my wife readied herself and lay on the table, we could only hold hands and be silent. When the sonogram began, there was a great moment of silence as signs of life were sought out.

Blink, blink, blink…there it was…blink, blink, blink. It was the heartbeat of our child being formed in the womb. Blink, blink, blink. Like a tiny cursor on a computer screen, we saw evidence of life! A life that God had created through us! Blink, blink, blink. A life that would be realized more fully in the coming months and years.

We saw life…and in the greatest paradox I could imagine, thousands of lives were simultaneously being snuffed out like so many unwanted cigarettes. It wasn’t until almost 1:00pm that afternoon when we saw the first images of what had happened on that day. Words could not do justice to the horrors of what the eyes beheld as the planes flew into the towers, and the towers plummeted to the ground beneath them.

All of these images went through my mind as we watched the movie a couple of nights ago. And as we watched the struggle of Sgt. John McLoughlin and Officer Will Jimeno, we were reminded of the privilege that is life, and how important it is everyday to live it in such a way as to fully comprehend how precious it is and how precious is the One Who gives it.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus speaks of himself in many ways. However, in John 14, he refers to himself as “the life,” and that no one could experience real life without experiencing him first and last. In our worship this week, let’s focus our thoughts not only the preciousness of this life that we’ve been given, but more importantly on the richness and fullness of life that comes from knowing Life – Jesus Christ.

Resounding Themes:

Jesus, the Life-giver

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

John 14:1-14

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- As Jesus begins this discourse, where is he? Who’s he with specifically? What spot on Jesus’ timeline of ministry are they? Why are the words Jesus has to say from here on out so important?

- What promise does Jesus reveal to them? How can the disciples access that promise? What seems to be the problem? Who is the disciple that eventually speaks up? What do we know about him? What do the disciples think they want from Jesus? Instead, what is Jesus offering them?

- When Jesus refers to himself as “the way, the truth, and the life,” what is he saying about himself? To what end does Jesus say that we are supposed to access him? What does true life in God look like? What does Jesus tell the disciples they will do in his absence? Why is that so incredible?

- Can we experience that “life” right now? Is it possible for us to do greater things than Jesus did? Why? How?

Ready, Set, PRAY

God…thank You for life! We recognize today that life is a gift both precious and awesome. For the life we have is not our own, nor is it complete without You. God, we want to experience Jesus more fully, so much so, that we might have the life that he offers, and that we might have it to the full. And by knowing Your son better and better, Lord, we realize that we will begin to understand and know You.

God we have seen Your glory…the glory of the One and Only, sent from Your side full of grace and truth! And so, God, we come to you, directly through the conduit of your faithful Son, Jesus. For we know that He alone is The Way to You, The Truth about You, and the representation of The Life we enjoy in You!

God…we thank You for life!

And its in that full life through Jesus we pray. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Because We Were First Loved

2006-08-09T11:43:00.000-07:00

Have you ever made the difficult decision to speak into a loved one’s life?

Growing up in a small town, friends are few and friends are forever. I met my best friend growing up when I was about three years old. From that moment on, we were best of buds. Living on different sides of town, we had to go to different elementary schools, although we still went to church together and hung out most weekends. I had my first overnight sleepover at his house when I was six. If there was trouble to be had, my best friend was in close proximity. I remember broken windows, broken curfews, but, fortunately, no broken bones (although there was a broken tooth during a trampoline incident). Many a carefree summer day was spent with my good friend.

And then came high school. I was in band and he was into basketball. Even though our friend pools were different, we still had contact through church stuff. But, as the sixteens and seventeens hit, we each had our own patches of rebellion and exploration. And then it happened…a girl. I for one did not have a steady girlfriend, whereas my best friend began to spend more and more time with his new found love. As the relationship continued, my friend’s level of intimacy began to advance farther and farther. In a matter of months, a boy and girl who had met through our youth group were becoming sexually active. I was devastated. Not that I was a saint…but he had crossed the line. In time, his grades were dropping, his relationship with his parents was deteriorating, and he began to pull away from me.

Then it happened. One night, they had a scare…you know…that kind of scare. For weeks, he sat on pins and needles as they awaited the results from the pending pregnancy test. It was negative. We all breathed a sigh of relief. And just when I thought he was about to get his life back on track, he renewed his relationship with his girlfriend and the cycle began again.

Seventeen year olds shouldn’t have to make such choices…but I was at a crossroads with the best friend I’d ever known. He was headed down a path of destruction very early in life. We’d all seen those kids who’d blown it, the ones who had kids while they were still in high school. The lost lives, confused parenthood, arrested development – I saw the train wreck coming and I just couldn’t stand by and watch it happen.

To make a long (and otherwise censored!) story short…I did it. I stepped in, cashed in every relationship chip I’d earned over the previous decade and a half, and went for broke. I knew that intervening in his life might cost a great deal – even my best friend. Suffice it to say, my friend listened. He respected what I had to say, and he made a much needed course correction. Even now, years and years later, my friend would be the first to say that what I did for him saved, or at least greatly changed, his life forever.

As we continue in our current preaching series, OurSpace.com: A Place for God, we come to concept called “Add Comment.” Many people are quick to speak into others’ lives to criticize what they’re doing, but they have no relationship with them whatsoever! The truth about an authentic friendship is that it takes a lot of effort and involvement to get the privilege to be able speak into others’ lives. And then, when the time is right, one has to have the courage to practice true tough love.

In your worship this week, think about how difficult it is to build life-long relationships, and what is required of a true friend? Meditate on a time when either you inserted your own comment into the life of a true friend, or had one inserted into yours. Thin about the way Jesus was so masterful to correct and affirm the ones he loved dearly. Imagine for a moment where you’d be if God had not decided to add his own comment (through Jesus) into your life.

Resounding Themes:
Compassionate Savior
Love for One Another
Iron Sharpening Iron

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

1 John 4:7-21

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- Why does John believe that we have the power to love? Do you believe this to be true? Explain. What test does John offer to prove the validity of one’s love?

- If God is indeed love, in what way did he communicate his love for us? In what ways did God “Add Comment” into the world? What role did Jesus serve?

- How does John assert that love is made complete? Why is this important in the circle that is God’s love? What is the opposite of love? If you said “hate,” you might want to reread 1 John 4: 18. How is fear the adversary and polar opposite of love? Explain from your own circumstance.

- Why do we love in the first place? Why would we make the effort to “Add Comment” into the life of someone we love? Is this something we can do by our own power? What does John suggest in this passage of scripture? What word of love and challenge do you need to speak into someone’s life? Into your own?

Ready, Set, PRAY

God, we love You.

Even as we say the words, they seem so hollow and lacking in worth. Certainly, we do love You, God, but all rational faculties tell us that in doing so, we underestimate the breadth of Your power and the deepness of Your devotion.

God, we love You.

Could the inadequate utterances of Your creation ever even begin to express the gratitude we have in our own hearts And yet, You gave us that burn and desire for You. And when we chose to kindle that passion, You meet us in the burial of baptism, regenerating us into a new life – full of the Spirit! How could we possibly know what love is, unless it had first been modeled by You and the giving of Your Son, Jesus. For by that offering, You spoke into our circumstance and changed us forever! For only by Jesus have we been saved! Give us the courage to be both authentic friends and friends who care enough to speak into each other’s lives. Set our hearts aright and show us our own sin, that we might become better aid our brother and sister in need. And may our love for our friends be a direct reflection of the love You have so graciously extended to us first.

God, we love You.

In Jesus, AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

What's So Great About Loyalty?

2006-08-02T14:38:00.000-07:00

Why is loyalty one of, if not the most, desired characteristic of a true friend?

A story is told about two men were traveling together from the northern border of Washington into Canada. As they were hiking along one day, they were suddenly met on their path by a bear. One of them climbed up quickly into a tree and concealed himself in the branches. The other man, unable to climb or flee, right then and there made decision to fall flat on the ground, for he quickly remembered being told from childhood that bears would not touch something that appeared dead. Sure enough, the bear came up to him and felt him with his snout – smelling him from head-to-toe. As the bear made inquiry of him, the frightened man held his breath and feigned the appearance of death as much as he could. In one last motion, the bear placed his snout next to the man’s ear, whispered something, and then walked off. When he was quite gone, the other traveler descended from the tree, and jocularly inquired of his friend what it was the bear had whispered in his ear. "He gave me this advice," his companion replied. "Never travel with a friend who deserts you at the approach of danger."

Loyalty is a characteristic that must lie at the heart of every sustainable relationship. Even in the business world, the whole idea of “loyalty economics” has become a multi-billion dollar enterprise for corporations and brand names to create lasting relationships with their clients. Companies will go to great lengths to make and retain repeat customers to buy their products.

Why is this so important you might ask? If you went into a store to buy a can of corn, let’s say, and you decided to try out a new brand that was on sale…chances are, that corn is being bought and sold at very little profit simply for the purposes of getting something new into the hands of consumers. At the same time, if you, the customer, bought the sale corn and discovered a dead insect in it, there’s a strong chance that you would never purchase that brand again. Conversely, however, if you found that same insect in a can of corn whose brand you’ve known and trusted for many years, you’re likely to be repulsed, but not repelled from buying it again. Why? Because of the loyal relationship that has been developed through the years. If this can be said of groceries, blue jeans, and automobiles, it must be all too true of meaningful relationships among people!

Yet, what does loyalty look like?

Loyalty’s hands are gnarled and calloused from constant laboring.
Loyalty’s face is creased with the wrinkles of experience.
Loyalty’s back is muscular from years of load bearing.
Loyalty’s eyes are perceptive of reality, yet full of unique wisdom.
Loyalty’s heart beats with both warmth and strength for its true friends.
In short, loyalty is the bedrock that unshakable, authentic relationships must be built on.

In your worship this week, think about the loyalty that exists for those who are in Christ: both the relationship we enjoy with Jesus and the relationship the Father has with the Son. Craft your daily worship habits in such a way as to act in greater loyalty to those you have relationship with. Also, contemplate on what it might take for you to become faithful as God is faithful.

Resounding Themes:

Unchanging God
Steadfastness
Reflecting Jesus
Authentic Community

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

Proverbs 17:17
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- Who is the most loyal person you know? Relate a circumstance when their loyalty towards you produced an amazing result? Are you a naturally loyal person?

- Who is you best friend in this life? Why? Can you point to a single circumstance in you relationship that solidified this bond, or was it a series of circumstances that has grown and matured it? Are you able to share everything with this person? Even the darkest parts of your makeup that no one else knows? If not, what keeps you from being fully known by them? If you have, what has sharing in this way done for you?

- How is it possible for a friend to be able to love at all times? Are there times when you are unlovable? Your friends? What truth under girds all true friendships? Is it true that brothers and sisters are necessary during times of adversity? Relate a time when you’ve found that to be all too true.

Ready, Set, PRAY

Yahweh…even to type Your true name brings awe and terror. Yet, in as much as the ancients could not bring themselves to fathom such a feat, we now have the confidence to call upon You fully – with both fear and adoration. You God were faithful Abraham, You were faithful to Moses, You were faithful to David, and You are still faithful today. We worship You Yahweh! Your loyalty to humankind is measurable only by the bond of Your Covenant. For as You speak Truth, O God, that Truth is as reliable as bedrock - as is the cornerstone. Lord, any ability we boast in this life to be loyal to others is a direct reflection of Your model to us. Grant us the constancy of a faithful heart. In times of adversity, may we serve as anchors for those in distress. And as we experience that dark night of the soul, would You surround us with loved ones that are willing to go the distance with us. We pray to a faithful God, through a faithful Son. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Know Me...PLEASE!!!

2006-07-26T15:25:00.000-07:00

What’s the big deal about being known by others, anyway?

A little over a decade ago, Justin Hall, a sophomore at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, decided he wanted to record his personal diary on a computer message board for his friends to see. Mainly, he talked about video games and touring the World Wide Web (a fairly new development at the time). However, as his entries continued, they began to become more personal and emotionally revealing. This new “cyber-diary” became known as the “weblog,” or an electronic location for personal information. In a few years, the adage would be shortened to “blog,” and the idea of revealing one’s personal life to the entire world became the next big thing - and before you knew it, places were popping up all over the internet for people to congregate for the purposes of finding community.

If you’re not familiar with the “blog” phenomenon or the “internet socialization highway” that has become wildly popular in the past several years, then you are either buried in a dark hole or one of those people who believes that the computer is a fad like butterfly collars and will soon go away…or both. Regardless of where you are on the internet superhighway curve, the fact is that hundreds of millions of people are rushing to these electronic portals of community every day. “Why would people want to do that,” you might ask? To be known.

You see, being real and fully exposed is becoming more and more popular. As this next generation is maturing, there is an intense movement afoot for genuineness and reality (we need look no further than the glut of reality shows on the airwaves to understand this). The age of the silent generation is over and young people now, more than ever, on are on a quest to find out what’s authentic. As long as diaries have been kept, they have been outlets for individuals to let their hair down and reveal everything. Weblogs, socialization portals, and the like, are a way for people to make themselves known. The vast difference, however, is that what was once private is now fully revealed to the masses.

For example, here’s an average profile from one of these internet communities by a young girl named Krystyn. She says about herself:

Status: Single, by choice

Here for: Networking, Serious Relationships, Friends

Orientation: Straight, I guess

Hometown: ElPaso, TX

Body type: 5' 1" / Kinda Sexy, if you like really short girls

Ethnicity: White / Caucasian

Religion: Undecided

Zodiac Sign: Capricorn

Children: See Status (Above)

Occupation: Student

Often times, in an effort to be known by others, writers in these electronic societies will simply place their every thought on the page. Here’s Gregg’s mundane self-disclosure in a recent entry. He includes:

Is Math the most boring subject in the world or not? All I can remember in school is being told over and over – you’ll need this when you grow up. And now, here I am grown up, and I can’t do math. I don’t need to! I have a calculator on my phone, on my watch, in my drawer—they’re everywhere. But, sometimes, I get cought without my calculator and have to add or make a percentage..and I just can’t do it. Do you remember haw to calculate percentages…cause I sure don’t! Oops, I guess I should have paid attention afterall…

But what is all too telling are entries like this one from Jan, 19, married, and part of a “blogring” (an internet community for people of a similar affinity) known as the “suicides. She writes:

You can’t spell painted without pain. There’s a reason for the title. There’s a reason why stats aren’t accurate. There’s a reason why suicide is common. There’s a reason for the clichés. There’s a reason for it all, or at least, for most of it. Suicide is the national killer. Clichés about suicide formed for those who need to cope with losing a loved one, or for attempting and failing themselves. Not all who commit suicide want to. And no one understands suicide better than those who’ve survived it.

But I can’t vouch for everyone on my suicide. I’ve never cut. I’ve never lowered myself to drugs and alcohol. I’ve never physically hurt another person. I’ve never done half the things considered suicidal. But I attempted, a few years ago. I had my depression medicine with me while I was in the car at my mothers work. I couldn’t tell you what was on my mind, nor could I tell you why I had done it, but I did. I tried drugging myself. Before I took enough to be sent to the hospital, I ran out. I was disappointed then, but now I’m quite relieved…

To further understand the magnitude to which this extends, I invite you to take some time over the next few days and explore some of these internet societies on the internet. It’s amazing what some people will say to be known by others and make friends. Now, buyer beware, not everything out there is wholesome. In fact, some people will go to great lengths to disgust or offend you with their style of disclosure. But if you can sort through the amateuristic composure and seemingly disjointed thought patterns that accompany some people’s thoughts, I believe you will find an underlying thread throughout these cyber-communities – “know me and be my friend”

As we come to a new sermon series, we will be capitalizing on this phenomenon. The series entitled, OurSpace.com is a quest uncover the truths of living in community with others and being known by them and by God. In your worship this week, contemplate on the idea of being known and having the courage to be fully transparent with everyone…including God.

Resounding Themes:
Omnipotent God
Knowing Fully, As I Am Fully Known
Reflecting Jesus
Community

Ready, Set, READ

Proverbs 17:17

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- Are you shocked by the “blog” phenomenon? What aspect of it do you find the hardest to understand? What part of it is attractive to you? What do you think motivated people to share their lives at incredibly deep levels with total strangers? Would you be surprised to know that many people tell the truth in self revelation on blogs? On the flipside, there are some who make-up entirely artificial alter egos – what point do they miss in the blog experience?

- Who is you best friend in this life? Why? Can you point to a single circumstance in you relationship that solidified this bond, or was it a series of circumstances that has grown and matured it? Are you able to share everything with this person? Even the darkest parts of your makeup that no one else knows? If not, what keeps you from being fully known by them? If you have, what has sharing in this way done for you?

- How is it possible for a friend to be able to love at all times? Are there times when you are unlovable? Your friends? What truth under girds all true friendships? Is it true that brothers and sisters are necessary during times of adversity? Relate a time when you’ve found that to be all too true.

Ready, Set, PRAY

God, what words could we express to capture the nature of Your character in such a way as to relate our understanding of it to You? You know all, see all, create all, possess all, and rule over all. Not one second of any minute of any hour of any day of any week of any month of any year of any century of any millennium has transpired without You first ordaining it and then noticing its passing.

What an awesome God You are!

In Your creativity, You set man and woman – male and female You created them – to be the coheirs of Your blessings. In Your eyes, it was not good for them to be alone. And Lord, even today, You desire the same for us…that we would not languish without relationship, but that we would thrive in the security that comes from knowing and being known by each other. God, give us the integrity to be authentic. Let us revel in the knowledge that there is One Who knows us to our very being…and even in that knowledge…continues to love us.

We return to You lives of honesty and gratitude. In Jesus AMEN

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Would I Die For You?

2006-07-19T15:25:00.000-07:00

Have you ever truly thought about who exactly you would willingly give your life for?

In the 1998 movie “Saving Private Ryan,” Steven Spielberg brings us face to face with the drama and reality of WWII Normandy. Based on a real-life situation, the plot begins as we see an elderly man make his way onto the WWII memorial grounds on the shore of Normandy. From that point, we are whisked into a fever pitched flashback of the horrors of war as the Allies charge the beachhead and conquer the entrenched Germans. At that point, Chief of Staff, General Marshall is informed that three of a woman's sons have been killed in other battles and that she's going to receive the notifications of their demise at the same time. And when he learns that a fourth son is still unaccounted for, the General decides to send a unit to find him and bring him back, despite being told that it's highly unlikely that he is still alive and the area that he was known to be in is very dangerous.

With that knowledge in hand, the General goes against the odds and commissions a unit consisting of 8 men, led by Capt. John H. Miller (played by Tom Hanks) to be sent to find the surviving brother, Pvt James Francis Ryan (played by Matt Damon) in war-torn France, and bring him back to the family he has remaining.

As the rag-tag group of soldiers wander across the provincial countryside, it becomes obvious what the objective is and dissention begins to set in. The men wrestle with the whole idea that the army would send 8 perfectly good soldiers into a dead-end situation to rescue a single man who might not even be alive. Nonetheless, Capt Miller gathers up the crew and they continue in their search for Pvt Ryan.

Along the way, the band of brothers is met with many adversarial circumstances including illness, injury, hunger, sleep deprivation, and even death. At one point in the mission, they believe that they have discovered Pvt Ryan, only to learn that he is not the same James Ryan they seek, leaving the young man devastated by the false news of his brothers’ death.

At long last, after much sacrifice, they find Pvt James Francis Ryan, alive, well, and serving his battalion. When he learns of his brothers’ fate, he is shaken, but denies the opportunity to return home until his unit accomplishes their mission of holding a key bridge. Pressed into service, the search party (now reduced to six) take up arms with the tattered unit and await the German onslaught for control of the bridge. In the final battle scene, the true drama unfolds as Capt Miller sacrifices his own life to protect the life of the young Ryan. In his dying words, Miller exhales to Ryan, “…make this count…” With that, the Capt dies. The Allies summarily achieve victory and Ryan is returned home as ordered. In the closing scene, we see the aged Ryan kneeling at the grave of his rescuer, Capt Miller, and he reflects on the life that he’s lived in daily gratitude to the one who saved him.

Would you really give your life for someone? I’m sure many if not all of us could answer “yes” to that question with a couple of faces running through our minds…but if it came down to it, would we really? As we come to our lesson this week, we see Peter, a man of purpose and conviction standing before the Lord professing his undying allegiance – even unto death! And yet, only a matter of hours later, we find the courageous turned coward as he denies Christ three times. Yet, as we see in the Gospel of John, Jesus reinstates Peter and puts him in charge of feeding his sheep and carrying on the work of the Spirit – which will ultimately cost him his life.

In your worship this week, reflect upon the idea of the sacrifice of Christ Jesus and what is means to live a life of equal sacrifice that is worthy of the cross. Meditate on what it might mean for you to understand the significance of Christ’s death in the plan of salvation, and what your own sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel might require of you.

Resounding Themes:
Christ’s Sacrificial Death
Lives of Gratitude
Resolve Seasoned with Patience
Forgiveness Beyond Failure

Ready, Set, READ

Matthew 26:31-35, 69-75

John 21:15-19

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- As Jesus enters into his most emotion time of his life and ministry, what does he have to say to his beloved disciples? Why does Jesus say this will all occur? How does Peter counter Jesus’ prediction? How does Jesus’ reply “up the ante?” Is Peter swayed at all? Is this in line with what we know of Peter?

- After Jesus is arrested and taken to trial, where do we find Peter? Who confronts him and what is alleged? How does Peter respond? Still again, he confronted…how does he respond? What is somewhat humorous about his first to accusers? What light is shed on of Peter’s resolve in the face of these two girls? Finally, after a third denial, how does Peter prove his innocence? Just as Jesus predicts, what occurs?

- When come to the Gospel of John, what are the circumstances between Jesus and the disciples? And Peter? Knowing this, what does Jesus ask Peter? How does Peter respond? Does his recent action match up with his response? After three rounds of similar questioning, how does Peter respond? By your estimation, does Jesus forgive Peter for his denials in the courtyard? In fact, what is Jesus really asking Peter to do?

Ready, Set, PRAY

Constant God.

Unfailing God.

Forever God.

How unmatchable is your character compared to any who have come before or will ever be! For it is you, O Lord, Who found love in Your heart for Your creation and sent Your son Jesus at just the right time. So many times, righteous Father, we have found ourselves with the heart of Peter…eager to be near You and in Your favor…quick to speak and slow to listen. So many times, our mouths have boasted our undying allegiance to Jesus’ precious name; then, as winter ryegrass in the scorching July sun, our resolve withers dormant in the face of opposition or challenge.

O God, what a wretched people we are!

Yet, You meet our inadequacies with Your perfection, our instability with Your constancy…our failure with Your triumph! Restore us once again, blessed Savior. Give us purpose, and dignity, and strength to hold fast to the charge you have given. May we feed Your little lambs, even at the expense of our lives if need be.

Grant us a willing Spirit to sustain us. This is our prayer.

AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Coming Out of Ruin

2006-07-12T15:24:00.000-07:00

Have you ever known some one who fell deeply into sin, only to overcome the failure and become a champion for God?

A couple of weeks ago, Rhesa and I were offered a pair of tickets to the acclaimed Broadway musical, Les Miserables. Accepting the tickets was a bit of a moral dilemma, as our small group was already scheduled to meet on the night of the show. Yet, after about 15 seconds of wrestling and reflection, we painfully came to the conclusion that we would go! HA!

First of all…seeing a Broadway production of a legendary classic is…a transcendent experience. The precision of the orchestra, the execution of the A/V, lighting, and props, the seemingly effortless high notes that bellow from the chest of the singer/actors – all of these meld together in perfect harmony to tell a story in song whose intent is to affect the viewers forever.

This was my first time to see Les Miserables live. I had seen the movie with Liam Neeson on several occasions and had listened to the soundtrack with some frequency in college…but I had never seen the story unfold in the drama of a theater with live players on the stage. And as much as a person goes to a Broadway show to be entertained, I was amazed at how transformative and captivating the experience was for me.

If you’re not familiar with the story line, it goes something like this.

(excerpts taken from the official website: http://www.lesmis.com/

Jean Valjean, released from prison on parole after 19 years on the chain gang, finds that the yellow ticket-of-leave he must, by law, display condemns him to be an outcast. Only the saintly Bishop of Digne treats him kindly and Valjean, embittered by years of hardship, repays him by stealing some silver. Valjean is caught and brought back by police, and is astonished when the Bishop lies to the police to save him, also giving him two precious candlesticks. Valjean decides to start his life anew.

Eight years have passed and Valjean, having broken his parole and changed his name to Monsieur Madeleine, has risen to become both a factory owner and Mayor. One of his workers, Fantine, has a secret illegitimate child. When the other women discover this, they demand her dismissal. The foreman, whose advances she has rejected, throws her out. Desperate for money to pay for medicines for her daughter, Fantine sells her locket, her hair, and then joins the whores in selling herself. Utterly degraded by her new trade, she gets into a fight with a prospective customer and is about to be taken to prison by Javert, the chief of police, when "The Mayor" arrives and demands she be taken to a hospital instead. The Mayor then rescues a man pinned down by a runaway cart. Javert is reminded of the abnormal strength of convict 24601 Jean Valjean, a parole-breaker whom he has been tracking for years, but who, he says, has just been recaptured. Valjean, unable to see an innocent man go to prison in his place, confesses to the court that he is prisoner 24601. At the hospital, Valjean promises the dying Fantine to find and look after her daughter Cosette. Javert arrives to arrest him, but Valjean escapes.

Young Cosette has been lodged for five years with the Thenardiers who run an inn, horribly abusing the little girl whom they use as a skivvy while indulging their own daughter, Eponine. Valjean finds Cosette fetching water in the dark. He pays the Thernardiers to let him take Cosette away and takes her to Paris. But Javert is still on his tail...

Nine years later there is a great unrest in the city because of the likely demise of the popular leader General Lamarque, the only man left in the Government who shows any feeling for the poor. The urchin Gavroche is in his element mixing with the whores and beggars of the capital. Among the street gangs is one led by Thernardier and his wife, which sets upon Jean Valjean and Cosette. They are rescued by Javert, who does not recognize Valjean until after he has made good his escape. The Thernardiers' daughter Eponine, who is secretly in love with the student Marius, reluctantly agrees to help him find Cosette, with whom he has fallen in love. At a political meeting in a small cafe, a group of idealistic students prepare for the revolution they are sure will erupt on the death of General Lamarque. When Gavroche brings the news of the General's death, the students, led by Enjolras, stream out into the streets to whip up popular support. Only Marius is distracted by thoughts of the mysterious Cosette. Cosette is consumed by thoughts of Marius, with whom she has fallen in love. Valjean realizes that his "daughter" is changing very quickly but refuses to tell her anything of her past. In spite of her own feelings for Marius, Eponine sadly brings him to Cosette and then prevents an attempt by her father's gang to rob Valjean's house. Valjean, convinced it was Javert who was lurking outside his house, tells Cosette they must prepare to flee the country. On the eve of the revolution the students and Javert see the situation from their different viewpoints; Cosette and Marius part in despair of ever meeting again; Eponine mourns the loss of Marius; and Valjean looks forward to the security of exile.

The students prepare to build the barricade. Marius, noticing that Eponine has joined the insurrection, sends her with a letter to Cosette, which is intercepted at the Rue Plumet by Valjean. Eponine decides, despite what he has said to her, to rejoin Marius at the barricade.

The barricade is built and the revolutionaries defy an army warning that they must give up or die. Gavroche exposes Javert as a police spy. In trying to return to the barricade Eponine is shot and killed. Valjean arrives at the barricades in search of Marius. He is given the chance to kill Javert, but instead lets him go.

The students settle down for a night on the barricade and, in the quiet of the night, Valjean prays to God to save Marius from the onslaught which is to come. The next day, with ammunition running low, Gavroche runs out to collect more and is shot. The rebels are all killed, including their leader, Enjolras. Valjean escapes into the sewers with the unconscious Marius. After meeting Thernardier, who is robbing the corpses of the rebels, he emerges into the light only to meet Javert once more. He pleads for time to deliver the young man to a hospital. Javert decides to let him go and, his unbending principles of justice having been shattered by Valjean's own mercy, he kills himself by throwing himself into the swollen River Seine. A number of Parisian women come to terms with the failed insurrection and its victims. Unaware of the identity of his rescuer, Marius recovers in Cosette's care.

Valjean confessed the truth of his past to Marius and insists that after the young couple are married, he must go away rather than taint the sanctity and safety of their union. At Marius' and Cosette's wedding the Thernardiers try to blackmail Marius. Thernardier says Cosette's "father" is a murderer and, as proof, produces a ring which he stole from the corpse in the sewers the night the barricades fell. It is Marius' own ring, and he realizes it was Valjean who rescued him that night. He and Cosette go to Valjean, where Cosette learns for the first time of her own history before the old man dies in peace. As he dies the song on his lips is sung…

And lead me to salvation.

Take my love, for love is everlasting.

And remember, the truth that once was spoken.

To love another person is to see the face of God.

What a touching story of both tragedy and a life risen from the rubble. Such is the story of Samson. Last week, we saw the great Samson break God’s covenant and fall from a very high pedestal. Yet, even in the ruin of his own sin, Samson, both blind and bald, makes a choice to pull down the pillars of his unfaithfulness and restore his vow to the Lord.

Where are you today in your walk with God? Are you like Valjean in Les Miserables, a man or woman who has been at the breaking point of sin, only to rise up and pull the pillars down to live a new, changed life? Or are you more like Javert, a person so bent on righteousness that there’s no place in your heart for love or forgiveness or mercy? Wherever you are, focus your worship this week on the unchanging truth that God forgives all sin in Jesus Christ…and more strikingly, he raises us up to a new life in his service!

Resounding Themes:
A Reconciling God
Jesus, the True Restorationist
Pulling Down the Pillars of Sin Thru Confession
Forgiveness

Ready, Set, READ

Judges 16:22-31

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- After the fall of Samson, his blinding, and being shackled in chains, what ray of hope does the writer give us about his condition? What possible reasons could there be for including this tidbit of the story? Knowing what Samson has done, is this shocking? Warranted? For Samson, what did the growing back of his hair symbolize? What about for us today?

- After Samson is subdued, where is he taken? Why is this ironic for Samson? What do the people say and do with Samson? Again, what is the irony in this for Samson?

- In his final moments, what does Samson decide to do? By what strength does he do it? How does he regain his strength to stand up against God’s enemies once again? What is Samson’s fate? In your opinion, is this a just ending for Samson? Why or why not? Do you see any parallels with this part of Samson’s life and the story of Jesus? Why or why not? Are you in need of pulling down the pillars of sin in your own life?

Ready, Set, PRAY

Father of marvelous light, we come to You and wither in the presence of Your majesty. For in your presence, none can stand in their sinful ways. We confess our sins to you, O God. Our pride, selfishness, greed, lusts…all of these we bring to You and pray in the power of your mighty servant David:

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Righteous God, as we pull down the pillars of sin that tower over us, restore to us forgiveness and the joy of Your precious salvation! In Jesus name, AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

The Thing I Don't Want to Do

2006-07-05T15:24:00.000-07:00

Have you ever made an earnest vow to do/not do something, but something/some event kept you from following through?

Since I find myself straddling (ever so precariously) the middle-of-the-year fence, I look back at the first half of 2006 and I’m intrigued by my progress concerning New Year’s resolutions. Of the many goals for my life this calendar year, it should come as no shock that one of them is to lose some weight. At the beginning of the year, I had earnestly set out to lose 50 lbs in 2006. Now, that’s an ambitious goal, to be sure, but I was certain with enough conviction, it would happen.

In my first ten days, I was like a man on a mission! I drank Slimfast shakes twice a day. I cooked and ate healthy dinners. Sweets were exorcised from the pantry. Snacks were the stuff of carrots, cauliflower, and celery sticks. So long Startbucks, hello waterjug! By the evening of day 10, I laid down in bed a new man, weight falling off like condensation from a glass of lemonade…and a will to follow through. And then it happened. For if I had laid down that night a new man, the coming dawn would bring about a total opposite effect, for the very next morning, I got that call no one looks forward to…my father had died suddenly in the night. My whole world collapsed like a house of cards at the opening of a door on a windy day. In the coming weeks and months, I would try desperately to get back on track with my vow, but time after time and circumstance after circumstance, I would fail. And so, here I still sit, peering into the next half of this year, and I wonder if I’ll be able once again to regain the fire I once had to change my life forever.

Is my story a reflection of your spiritual life? Do you set ambitious goals for yourself to attain a deeper relationship with God, only to be thwarted or discouraged from your path of progress? Or do you, like most New Year’s “resolutioners,” make vows and plans concerning your spiritual life that make a awesome flash in the pan, but leave no lasting effect from your unwillingness to carry them through?

Samson was a man whose entire life was based on a vow…a commitment to the Lord. As long as he stayed faithful to his calling and God’s leading, he would be used to lead God’s people out of captivity and into blessing. Samson was renowned for his incredible strength, and as long as his hair remained uncut by the razor, he was subduable by no man’s army. However, the moment he turned his back on protecting his confidence to the Lord, he was left to his own strength – which proved to be very little.

In your worship this week, think about the vows and commitments you’ve made to God – think about your baptism and what that symbolic vow meant when you accepted Christ. Upon reflection, take time to thank God for his infinite faithfulness and that you would find renewal to keep your commitment to the Lord, to follow him all of your days.

Resounding Themes:
Majestic Father
Committed Heart to God
God’s Faithfulness
Submission to the Lord’s Desire for Our Lives

Ready, Set, READ

Judges 13

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- Why does the writer open up Judges 13 with the word “Again…”? How does God respond to their unfaithfulness? Have you ever found yourself in a cycle of harmful/sinful behavior that seems to repeat itself over and over again? How/Have you gotten out of that rut?

- From the opening words, what do we know about Samson’s beginnings? Why do you think this was a good platform for God to do His creative work? Do you find God working in your own life through difficult/challenging circumstances to reveal His glory? Explain?

- What are some of the unique characteristics that Samson would have to exhibit to be God’s vessel. If you have the ability to research, find out more about what the “Nazarite vow” was and the purpose it served? Why was Samson’s mother required to follow it is well? Have you ever dedicated something/someone to God? What are some of the things you vowed to/not to do to show your devotion in the matter? Were you faithful? Did God respond to your faithfulness in a way you could see and understand?

Ready, Set, PRAY

How long, Oh Lord! How long will you turn us loose to our own desires and watch us fail under the weigh of our own sinfulness! For just as the apostle Paul, that very thing we want to do, we don’t; and that very thing we don’t want to do…we find our selves constantly doing! But even when temptation is our companion, we know even then you are right along side of us – still even closer than our failures. Lord, it is our desire that we would, as Sampson’s mother, abandon our own fears and wants and do everything you ask of us – no matter how extreme. Would faithfulness overshadow our selfish ambition, commitment overcome stubbornness, and steadfastness squelch fickleness. God, we declare that Your way is the only way for our lives. And now may or prayers and words match our faith and our actions. For that sake of Christ and becoming like his image I pray. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

The Crux of the Matter

2006-06-28T15:23:00.000-07:00

Have you ever discovered something useful, only to find its usefulness to be limited or nonexistent without some crucial element?

If I heard it once, I’ve heard it a hundred times… “just wait ‘til you own a house of your own!” This phrase came from the lips of my parents (mainly my dad) many times. The context varied from crisis to crisis and challenge to challenge, but the moniker attached to it was still the same, “just wait…” Needless to say, that phrase has pestered my existence from the time we purchased our first home in Kingwood, TX. When the slightest thing would go wrong, I could soon hear in the back of my mind, “just wait,” which was usually accompanied by, “I told you so!”

One occasion that I distinctly heard that voice echoing through my head came within the first few weeks of owning our home. At the back door of our house, there was a double light switch. When the first one was flipped, the light in the garage came on. However, when the second one was triggered…nothing. For the life of me, I could not figure out what that switch was supposed to do. For days, we’d flip the switch and go hunting for what it might control. It quickly became known as the “mystery switch.”

In the coming weeks, all the boxes finally got moved into the house and out of the garage, allowing us to park our cars inside. At first, our automatic garage door worked perfectly. However, as time went by, we noticed that it sometimes stopped working without any explanation. I remember one such instance when the garage door failed to open. It was a Sunday morning. I was already at church, and my wife had the kids loaded in the car and no way to get out of the garage!

Finally (and I do mean as a last resort), I had one of my friends who was a home inspector to come over and check it out. Within seconds, to my dismay and embarrassment, he identified the problem. Familiar with the home builder, he told me that the “mystery switch” worked in tandem as a kill-switch for the garage door opener. Alas, we trotted out his theory and discovered it to be true. How could I have been so blind! The power to open and close the garage door was right at my finger tips all the time – all I had to do was to have eyes to see it and release its power and the usefulness it created. Without doing so, I had useful device with zero chance of being useful.

For the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, the same principle was at play. For three years, they had been witnesses to the person of Jesus. His miracles were widely reported. His conflicts with the Jewish leaders were equally touted. Likewise, his own prediction of his death, burial, and third day resurrection was readily known. Yet, on Sunday evening, just three days after their Master was crucified, it seemed that the power of his life had been squashed by the reality of the cross. What they were soon to discover was that Jesus was about the throw on the switch and show them the power of the resurrection!

In your worship this week, focus on the defining moment of the resurrection and how that thread brought all meaning to gospel story – for without it, Jesus’ life would have been as powerless for us today as a garage door opener without electricity. Also, reflect on your place in the gospel narrative. Are you more like the women who saw the angels and were convinced, or do you find yourself in the place of the Emmaus road walkers, unable to fully see the power of the resurrection standing in their midst? Pray that Jesus will open your eyes once again!

Resounding Themes:
Power of the Resurrection
Magnificent God
Seeing the Risen Christ

Ready, Set, READ

Luke 24

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

· As the scene unfolds on Sunday morning, what are the “women” doing? What was their expectation upon reaching the tomb? Were they surprised? Who confirmed for them that Jesus was not dead? How is the word “remember” used in vv. 6-8?

- Having been convinced that Jesus had arisen as he foretold, what was their first instinct? Why is it special that they acted in such a manner? Are we the same way? How was the women’s testimony received? Have you ever had a hard time communicating something wonderful to those who had not experienced it?

- What were the two men talking about on the road to Emmaus? What is ironic about the visitor that joins them? Have you ever found yourself missing out on the obvious because you didn’t have eyes to see? How does Cleopas respond to the visitor? What crucial part of the story Cleopas tells is absent? How does the visitor (Jesus) respond? At what point was it clear that the visitor was Jesus? Why is this ironic?

- Even in the midst of their blindness and doubt, Jesus chooses to fully reveal himself to the Eleven. How does he do this? What further evidence do the disciples witness that point to the resurrected Christ? How do the “enlightened” disciples respond to Jesus’ blessing? As our eyes are opened fully to the resurrected Christ, how should we respond?

Ready, Set, PRAY

“O God, You are our God. Earnestly, we seek You. Our souls are thirsting for You.”

Father, we do seek You today. In everything our eyes behold as we move about our day, our eyes are wide open to the truth of You. As a person born blind longs to see the magnificent dawn, so, too, we yearn to see you fully. Jehovah, we are reminded that Your fullness was revealed in the sending of Your precious son, Jesus. And as we see the Christ, we see Your unfettered glory – Your very nature of love contained in a single offering of compassion to the world. Yet, God, we realize that Your love-act would be powerless to us today had it not been for the resurrection…for in the resurrection, we are presented with the evidence of the ages and the timing of all prophetic Scripture – at just the right time! As You did to the men on the Emmaus road, once again, reveal Yourself to us, that we would regain the joy of Your salvation and the fire in our bones that stirs our hearts to greater devotion and service. We seek You first, and the revealed Kingdom all around us. As we seek, may we find. As we find, would we be changed. This is our humble prayer. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

The Man Who Changed My Life

2006-06-14T15:22:00.000-07:00

Have you ever known somebody that truly changed your life?

I once knew a man who could fix anything broken, and could equally break anything in perfect working condition.

I once knew a man who was as strong as ten men and could manhandle anything into his submission if he so wanted.

I once knew a man who loved the element of surprise – be it on an unsuspecting person coming around a corner, or on purchases made spontaneously.

I once knew a man who would go to great lengths to embarrass his friends who boasted and lost bets and put them in the place of great humility. At the same time, this same man was so stubborn that, even when vested with the truth in an argument, would not go back on his original opinion.

I once knew a man who would spend $5 to save $50; however, in a great paradox, this same man would often spend $50 to save $5!

I once knew a man who loved to play practical jokes on both the unwitting and deserving alike. His favorite gaff was to take ordinary foods such as pickles and beef jerky and spicing them up to be hotter than the surface of the sun – only to put them on the break room table at work and sit back in the corner and watch the fire works.

However, I also knew a man who cared nothing for the spotlight or glory, but craved to work behind the scenes, unbeknownst to anyone.

I knew a man who understood the concept of friendship so deeply that he risked confronting his best friend about marital infidelity for the sake of assuring him that he was still loved.

I knew a man who knew nothing of selfishness, and gave of everything he had – almost to a fault.

And, I once knew a man who loved life so much that battled through cancer and strokes and heart disease and diabetes to be there for his family as long as he could, even though the daily pain was unbearable.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, this man I speak of was my father. It was six months ago last week that he was taken from this life and into his eternal reward. I miss him with every breath. Not a day has past since his death that I haven’t thought about him. All the times I’ve instinctively thought, “I wonder if dad has that tool,” or “I need to call dad to see if he knows how to do that,” only to be faced with the reality that he is no longer at my beckon call. This is my first Father’s Day without him, and the sting of that early morning phone call on January 11^th about his demise is still very real.

But if there’s something I have learned about my dad in his absence it is that, strangely, he’s not really gone. For I see more of who I am in who he was every day. The things I say, the phrases I choose, the manners in which I act - all point to the model from which I learned them. Only now, years later and too late to tell him, can I truly understand how much like my father I am. Dad didn’t get the joy of seeing the birth of his grandson (due in October), but I’m aware now, even more so than with my two precious daughters, that my son will look to me in the same manner as I did to my dad. My fervent prayer is that I can portray to proper image to him that will cause him to grow as God will have him.

Lord, I want to be just like You, cause he wants to be just like me

I want to be a holy example for his innocent eyes to see

Help me be a living Bible, Lord, that my little boy can read

I want to be just like you, cause he wants to be like me

On this Father’s Day, we are reminded of the eternal truth that permeates everything about us – that despite the role our earthly fathers played in our own development, there is a Father Who, in His very nature, loves us unconditionally and always seeks His glory in our lives. He will not leave us nor forsake us. And for those of us who are fathers or might be fathers in the future, we want to just like our Heavenly Father, because our children want to be like us.

Resounding Themes:
God, Our Constant Father
A Child’s Adoration
Gratitude and Compassion

Ready, Set, READ

Matthew 5-7

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- As you read through Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, are you shocked by the number of times he refers to God as “Father?” What are some of the things Jesus attributes to Father God? What seems to be the major underlying characteristic about the “Father” of Whom Jesus speaks?

- Was/is your earthly father perfect? In what ways was/is he wonderful? What were/are his shortcomings? Overall, was your father a good role model for you growing up?

- When you think about your own father (or at least the person you called daddy), what images come to mind? Was/is your experience with your father growing up? Later in life? If they are still living, how would you describe your relationship with your father currently? If you are a father now, what are some lessons that you learned from your own father that find yourself employing with your own children?

- Have you ever truly thought of God as your Father…not just the ruler of the universe? If so, what comfort does that give you in your specific situation? If not, what keeps you from worshipping God as the Father?

Ready, Set, PRAY

Lord God, You are the God of all times, Lord of lords, King of kings, wonderful, mighty Councilor, and the Price of Peace. For there is none like You in history, O God…and history itself belongs to You and You alone. Your throne is high and exalted, and by no scheme of man can you be accessed or persuaded or comprehended. And yet, by the token of your unsurpassing love for Your creation, You extend Yourself to us – that we might have access to You – and allow us to humbly call You our Father. God, we are thankful to Jesus, Your Son, who taught us what is to trust You as “Abba,” Father, and Daddy. As loving children, Daddy, we long for Your admiration, affection, correction, and instruction to live our lives to the full! So, too, as we parent our own children on this earth, we look to You, our ultimate model, to become the fathers You would have us be to our own children, both young and old. Sweet adoration flows from Your children, as we dance for joy in Your presence, and You cover us with singing. We pray this, Daddy, through Your faithful son. Amen.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Oblivious to the Obvious

2006-06-07T15:22:00.000-07:00

Have you been known to ignore the obvious?

As I surf the web, I ran across this joke the other day…maybe you’ve heard it:

One evening, after a long day of roaming the prairie and fighting for the cause of the just and the good, the Lone Ranger and his trusty sidekick Tonto set up camp in the desert. After a hearty meal, the two set up their tent, climb inside, and fall fast asleep. A couple of hours later, the Lone Ranger awakes with a shock! Disturbed but still drowsy, he rolls over and wakes his faithful friend.
He asks him, "Tonto, look up and tell me what you see."
Sleepily, Tonto replies, "Me see millions of stars."
"What does that tell you?" impatiently asks The Lone Ranger.
Tonto ponders for a minute...
"Astronomically speaking,” thoughtfully replied Tonto, “it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets.
Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo.
Time wise, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three.
Theologically, it's evident the Lord is all powerful and we are small and insignificant.
Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow.
What it tell you, Kemo Sabi?"
The Lone Ranger is silent for a moment, and then says condescendingly, "Tonto, you dummy, someone has stolen our tent!"

Ha Ha. But as silly as that little story is, we all know the inherent message to be true; we tend to miss the obvious. People look for hours on end for a set of keys that are in the ignition where they left them. Another is dumbfounded at the location of their glasses, only to discover them on top of their heads. Still yet in similar fashion, we look around, wonder and scratch our heads, searching for God and His movement in the world – when all the while, he’s working and acting and changing all around us. From our lost keys to our search for the Lord, one thing remains constant: evidence exists for those who have eyes to see it…even those with the poorest of vision!

For Gideon, one thing was quite clear –

Israel

was being oppressed and the “Almighty God” was no where to be seen. Yet, through a series of obvious encounters with the Lord, Gideon’s eyes were finally opened to a greater truth at work; God was indeed busy with the salvation of Israel and he was going to be God’s instrument!

In our worship this week, make it a point to find yourself being very aware of the work of God in the world in which you operate. Have you seen Him there before? If not, why didn’t you? And as you encounter His handiwork and presence in each circumstance, give him the glory for what He’s doing and pledge your eyes to be forever opened to what He’s accomplishing in and around and through you.

Resounding Themes:
Opening Our Eyes to the Almighty
Testing and Discovering God’s Favor
God is above All gods
Clean Heart, Ready Feet

Ready, Set, READ

Judges 6:1-40

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- Once again, where do we find the Israelites? Has God grown weary of their fickleness? Why or Why Not? Who/how does God remind them of the obvious things they’d so quickly forgotten?

- What obvious manner does God choose to engage Gideon? Why is God’s greater plan hard for Gideon to see? What are the challenges? What excuses do we usually give God for being able to see His obvious call to us? How does God respond?

- Weary of his encounter, what does Gideon ask of the angel for obvious proof of his authority and promises? How does the Lord respond to his testing? How does Gideon respond to God?

- After believing the Lord, what does Gideon do to show his faithfulness? Was this risky? Why? As God revealed his plan to Gideon, what test, again, does he require of the Lord? Was it obvious? Still, did Gideon see? Do we test the Lord and His will? Are we so bold to ask the Lord for obvious signs that we are in His will? If not, is our unwillingness a sign of our unfaithfulness or simply our inability to see the obvious?

Ready, Set, PRAY

O Great Revealer! We give You the eternal praise and glory for the manner in which You have peeled back the veil of darkness and showed us the beauty of Your creating power. For just as You tell the sun where to rise and set, so too You direct our lives in such a way that give You praise! Your handiwork is as obvious as the nose on our face and our exhaled breath on a crisp winter night. For in Your Word, You tell us that, eventually, none of us has an excuse to miss Your presence in the world as witnessed through Your intricate creation. Open our eyes O Righteous One! May we see and taste that You are good! And may we relish in the security that comes only from being alongside – in presence and in mission – the Make of the Universe. Father, as blind Bartimaeus on the side of the road, may we, in faith, come seeking the blessing of seeing the obvious You! This is our humble request through Jesus, AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

There Is No "I" In Team

2006-05-30T15:21:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen the power of people working together to achieve great things?

Recently, I was browsing the web, reading various blogs and websites of inspirational stories. While I was surfing, I ran across a site that had dozens of famous quotes attesting to the power of good leadership and teamwork. Here are just a few.

The ratio of We's to I's is the best indicator of the development of a team."

Lewis B. Ergen

"None of us is as smart as all of us."

Ken Blanchard

"No one can whistle a symphony. It takes an orchestra to play it."

H.E. Luccock

"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success."

Henry Ford

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed. It is the only thing that ever has."

Margaret Mead

"Synergy - the bonus that is achieved when things work together harmoniously."

Mark Twain

"The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime."

Babe Ruth

"Working together, ordinary people can perform extraordinary feats. They can lift things a little higher, a little farther, towards excellence."

Author Unknown

"When a team outgrows individual performance and learns team confidence - excellence becomes a reality."

Joe Paterno

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."

Helen Keller

"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results."

Andrew Carnegie

"The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual."

Vincent Lombardi

And my personal favorite…

"There is no ‘I’ in TEAMWORK."

Author Unknown

As we continue in our series on Judges, we come to one of the most famous women of the Bible: Deborah. As we read her story and how God uses her as an instrument to His people, we are reminded how important it is to fully understand the concept of co-laboring in community with others. In your worship this week, meditate on ideas such as community, submission, and seeking the will of God.

Resounding Themes:
Reign of God
Power of Community
Trust
Submission to Each Other, to Christ

Ready, Set, READ

Judges 4

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- How long did Israel stay faithful after Ehud died? How do you explain their ongoing fickleness toward God? How did God respond? How long did it take Israel to seek God once again?

- Whom does God raise up to be his mouthpiece to the people? Why is His choice interesting/strange? What role does Deborah play to the people, as well as judge?

- What word to the people does God give Deborah? How does her general Barak respond? What does this action say about Barak? Deborah? God? What happens to the Canaanite army and it’s leader? Once again, whom does God choose to carry out his will?

- Is there anything in this story to be said about God’s ability to use different persons to do his will? Does Barak show himself to be a whip or a genius in demanding Deborah to accompany him to battle? How well do we favor when it comes to partnering with God’s work in the world, rather than going it alone against the enemy?

Ready, Set, PRAY

I saw you this morning, God. As the night gave way to dawn and the earth woke up one again to your unforced rhythms of grace, I could see Your mighty hand at work. I sit here, right now Father, aware of my very breath – keenly aware that each one is a gift directly from You. How far, O God, could I make it without Your presence in my life? And what would it profit me to capture the very riches of the earth – if You had not ordained it for Your glory alone. Jehovah God, my soul aches for You. As the dawn need the sun to part the blackness of evening, so too am I in desperate need of Your leadership and power.

And with these thoughts, we pray to You these ancient words from Pope Clement XI:

I offer you, Lord, my thoughts: to be fixed on you; my words: to have you for their theme; my actions: to reflect my love for you; my sufferings: to be endured for your greater glory.

I want to do what you ask of me: in the way you ask, for as long as you ask, because you ask it. I pray, Lord, that you enlighten my mind, inflame my will, purify my heart, and sanctify my soul.

We don’t’ want to go anywhere without You!

In Christ’s Name. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Once a Truth, Always a Truth

2006-05-24T15:20:00.000-07:00

Have you ever believed this idea: something that was true once is always true?

When I was in college, one of my favorite pastimes was walking – and it still is. I love to walk – I’ve told you that before – but when I was in college, I walked a lot. One time, one a dare, I walked across Abilene to the grand opening of the first super WalMart in Taylor County…and back again. The total was 16 miles. A month later, like Forrest Gump, I put on my shoes one Sunday after noon and sought out to walk the entire loop around Abilene. Eight hours and 26.6 miles later, I’d done it. Think that’s crazy? A month after that trek, I decided to walk 50 miles from Eastland to Abilene. I had calculated every angle of the trip – except the temperature! It was 97 degrees that day, and I ended up collapsing with multiple leg cramps at mile 32 in Baird. The point is, I love to walk.

My roommate, Joel, was a long time walking buddy. Many nights when the homework was done and the duplex was closing in on us, we’d set out to walk the neighborhood. It’s amazing the conversations you can have when you’re walking and the juices are pumping! One of our most favored routes took us across a field from one subdivision to the next. It’s hard to believe there are houses there now, but back then, there was nothing more than infrequently cut weeds and no lighting.

On one particular night in May, we had been cramming for finals. After studying for a good stretch of time, Joel and I decided to take a walk. It was an enjoyable, balmy evening in the low 80’s with an abundance of humidity and a bizarre lack of wind. As our time away drew to a close, we found the opportunity to cut across the field and make our way to the house…it was a motion we had gone through many times before. As we cut across the property, I remember there being not much of a moon that night, as we were both gazing at the sky and the stars as we walked. And then it happened. It was a sensation that I can remember still to this day. I stepped on something. I wasn’t sure what it was at first, but when it started to move underneath my foot, it became a bit more clear…and then it became very clear! I had stepped squarely on a skunk! As I lifted my foot, I yelped and almost knocked Joel over with my reaction. In an instant, the skunk had discharged its repellent all over Joel and me. The progression of emotion when from startled to defensive to cowardly and then to relieved as we made some distance from the foul beast and went on our way. At first, we thought we’d dodged a bullet. The smell hadn’t matured in the late Spring air, and all seemed well…and then it happened. As though the floodgates of Gehena were opened, the nauseating remnant of the skunk on our clothes, skin, and hair overwhelmed our senses.

When we got home, the only thing to do was to strip and begin the cleaning process. Many bottles of tomato juice and vinegar were brought in…but to no avail. What we didn’t know and were soon to discover is that our open, sweating pores had become magnets for the skunk’s expectorant, and that the only way to remove the smell entirely was to sweat in out once again. Sparing many details, this process took many days and even weeks to accomplish its task. There’s so many lessons one can glean from such an experience, but the one that holds fast in my mind, even today, is this: just because a field is skunk free once doesn’t’ make it skunk free forever!

On a more serious note, do we respond with such a lazy, cavalier attitude in other areas of life – that is to say that we believe just because we could count on something/someone on one occasion that we should expect the same reception every time…regardless of our own behavior? Israel had much this same attitude in their relationship with God. Since they were the chosen, covenant nation, they assumed that God would always be on their side – even when they disobeyed him and sought after idols. In many ways, they confused unconditional love with blindness, and, in the end, found themselves in hot water with their enemies. To answer such despair, God raises up Ehud, the second in the line of Judges, to deliver them. His story is as memorable as it is challenging.

In you worship this week, reflect on the ways God has delivered you personally from foes and trials. Do you think often of those events, or are you, like the Israelites, all too quick in forgetting God’s great care and protection. In response, give God the glory for the things he has done on your behalf, and make a pact this day not to forget the mighty works of his hands, and to find blest assurance in his presence.

Resounding Themes:
The Reign and Rulership of God
Deliverance
Jesus, Our Great Protector
Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done

Ready, Set, READ

Judges 3:12-30

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- How does the next chapter of the Israelite story open as Ehud comes on the scene? Is this a new behavior? If not, why are the Israelites so bent on rejecting God – the only good thing they have going? How did God respond to their wickedness? To what end did God do this?

- What did Israel want while in 18 years of captivity? Why Ehud? How did Israel respond? What did Ehud decide to do when he went with the offering from Israel? When he gained entrance to the king, what happened? Is there any significance about Ehud being left handed in the presence of the king?

- When Ehud escapes, what does he do? What dies he tell the Israelites? How did the Israelites overcome the Moabites? How many died and how long did it take? The Israelites were foolish and assumed that God would always be on their side – even when they were idolatrous and unfaithful. Whose side is God on? Why?

Ready, Set, PRAY

O, God…how magnificent are Your thoughts – how vast the sum of them; had I were able to count them, they would outnumber the sands on the seashore and the stars in the sky! Your works are wonderful God, I know that full well. You have worked mightily in the past on humankind’s behalf. Even in my own life, Mighty Deliverer, You have parted the waters of the rising flood that I might not drown in my own sin. And as certain as You are unchanging and unfaithful, I realize that You require something of me in return for Your great care. It’s not a raucous presentation, magnificent achievement, or even a life or perfection that catches Your attention. No, You ask only two things of me in return for Your unfailing love: a broken spirit and a contrite heart. For in your presence, a blest assurance can be found – and to be in your presence requires a humbling of the soul. Great Jehovah, I bow humbly in Your presence today, asking only that You continue to be the God of yesterday as today and forever. I can’t help but turn all things back to the praise of Your Name! God, once again show Your power on human kind’s behalf, and let it begin with me! Through the powerful name of our Lord and Savior. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

How to Ruin Your Life

2006-05-17T15:19:00.000-07:00

Have you ever made a decision that seemed to ruin your life…only to make it better or save it?

Stanislav Petrov was a Soviet army officer monitoring the satellite system for signs of a U.S. attack. The year was 1983, and his instructions, if he detected missiles targeting the Soviet Union, were to push the button and launch a counter-offensive. Half an hour past midnight on September 26, 1983, he saw the first apparent launch on his computer monitor in a glass-walled room on the top floor of the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) command and control post.

“I was supposed to supervise the combat crew. When the first launch happened, everyone was stupefied. After the first launch, I started giving orders, because in the room below, where there were five switchboards, and all the operators jumped out of their seats to see what my reaction was. I can only imagine what went on at the other posts.”

The warning system was by now showing five missile launches in the U.S., headed toward the Soviet Union. The “START” command Petrov was expected to give would have started an irreversible chain reaction in a system geared to launch a counter-strike without human interference. “The main computer wouldn’t ask me [what to do] — it was made so that it wouldn’t even ask. It was specially constructed in such a way that no one could affect the system’s operations.” All that was up to Petrov was analyzing the available information and either saying the alarm was false or giving the computer the go-ahead, as per the directive he himself wrote.

As the seconds turned into minutes, officer Petrov knew that a decision had to be made. One the one had, he realized if he made the decision to “push the button,” WW III would be upon them – even though the USA had launched five missiles at them, they would have launched hundreds in return! On the other hand, if he chose not to obey protocol, the result would most certainly be, at minimum, severe reprimand…if not worse.

Back to the drama at hand, all the data checked out, to all appearances, the system was right on target — or rather, the missiles it reported were.

A decision had to be made…

Petrov reported the alarm to his superiors and declared it false. Had he been mistaken, the mistake would have become obvious in minutes. However, as they waited for visual confirmation, no missiles rained on Soviet Union.

In the end, it was a false alarm started aboard a satellite,” says retired General Yuri Votintsev, then the Commander of the Soviet Missile and Space Establishment. “I noted Lieutenant Colonel Petrov’s correct actions, given the situation. Literally within a minute he informed all the command posts that the information about the launch of space vehicles was false. His actions were duly noted.”

Duly noted indeed! For in a matter of seconds, Petrov was forced to make a decision that had overwhelming consequences. In the end, what seemed like a decision that would ruin his life and end his career turned out to be the difference millions of lives and the altering of world history!

But what about in our spiritual lives? Do we have the faculty to make decisions that, from all outward indicators, might bring about ruin to life as we currently know it? Are we so bold as to stand shoulder to shoulder with decisions that might bring us personal pain, demotion, and discomfort – all for the sake of following God? As the book of Judges opens, we see a people in a land of milk and honey not even knowing who they were or Whom had delivered them! With the fear of the Lord gone, the age of the judges had dawned that God’s people might once again risk in relationship with him and be restored – ruining their lives forever.

Resounding Themes:
Sovereignty/Aloneness of God
Desperation for God
Jesus’ Sacrifice for Our Seperation
Telling Salvation’s Story

Ready, Set, READ

Judges 2:10-15

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- What do we know about the “generation that had been gathered to their fathers?” What things did the Lord do with/through them? How could a generation so ignorant about God’s might and power follow such a great one?

- Without the fear of the Lord, how did the new generation act? In what specific ways did they rebel against the Lord? What does the writer mean when he says, “the Lord sold them [Israel} to their enemies?”

- Why is it important is it for us to be continuously telling the story of God’s faithfulness? If we don’t tell out children, what might become of them? In our own lives, are we living our lives in such a way as to deny the way of the world and to ruin our lives for God? Are we preparing the next generation to know and fear the Lord for the great things he has done?

Ready, Set, PRAY

O Lord – You are God alone! Who could compare to your matchless worth? If we could even dare to stand in the proximity of your holiness, we would be brought low and humbled because of our impurity. O God, we are a sinful people with unclean lips who live among a people of unclean lips, and our eyes have seen You, the Lord Almighty! We have traded glory for shame, riches for rags, blessings for curses, and love for scorn. What a bankrupt people we are! Yet…in Your infinite mercy, would You restore our fortunes, oh Lord. As You teach us humility in the presence of our own pride, would You provide a hand of comfort and constancy that only You can give? As an oasis in the desert, would You quench the thirst of our souls with Your living water. In our desperation, would You be our salvation? O Lord – You are God alone!

Unchangeable

Unshakable

Unstoppable

That’s what You are! Our humble prayer in the name of Jesus. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Extraordinary Moms

2006-05-10T15:18:00.000-07:00

This Sunday, we will be focusing our thoughts on two groups of people: mothers and new born babies. Since it is Mother’s Day, we want to take an opportunity to applaud the moms among us. Moms play an integral role in the development of the world around us. Their work is under-sung, under-appreciated, and often over-looked…but not today! Today, we will shout “Hooray!” for our mothers and their tireless efforts to make our world and our church a better place. Along with moms, we will also be recognizing our newborns over the past 12 months. It is the goal of Highland Oaks Church of Christ to bring everyone along in their awareness and walk with Jesus. We believe this should happen at all stages of life, but none more important than the early years of one’s development. In light of that revelation, we, as a congregation, will dedicate ourselves on an oath to the development and spiritual nurture of our newborns – knowing full well that they are tomorrow’s mothers and fathers and leaders.

As we set our worship heart aright for this week, consider these thoughts as given from a mother to her child:

I gave you life, but cannot live it for you.

I can teach you things, but I cannot make you learn.

I can give you directions, but I cannot be there to lead you.

I can allow you freedom, but I cannot account for it.

I can take you to church, but I cannot make you believe.

I can teach you right from wrong, but I cannot always decide for you.

I can buy you beautiful clothes, but I cannot make you beautiful inside.

I can offer you advice, but I cannot accept it for you.

I can give you love, but I cannot force it upon you.

I can teach you to share, but I cannot make you unselfish.

I can teach you respect, but I cannot force you to show honor.

I can advise you about friends, but cannot choose them for you.

I can advise you about sex, but I cannot keep you pure.

I can tell you the facts of life, but I can't build your reputation.

I can tell you about drink, but I can't say "no" for you.

I can warn you about drugs but I can't prevent you from using them.

I can tell you about lofty goals, but I can't achieve them for you.

I can teach you about kindness, but I can't force you to be gracious.

I can warn you about sins, but I cannot make you moral

I can love you as a child, but I cannot place you in God's family.

I can pray for you, but I cannot make you walk with God.

I can teach you about Jesus, but I cannot make Jesus your Lord.

I can tell you how to live, but I cannot give you eternal life.

I can love you with unconditional love all of my life . . . and I will!!!

Thank you moms!

Resounding Themes:
Thankfulness For Our Mothers
Dedication of our Children to God
Glory to Christ At Work Within Us

Ready, Set, READ

Exodus 1:15-2:10

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- What horrible thing is going on at the time this text occurs? Why is Pharaoh doing this? Who does he employ to do his bidding? What is their reaction? How does Pharaoh react?

- What extraordinary things does Moses’ mother do to ensure her son’s survival? What were the risks? How does God honor her efforts? In the end, what effect did Moses’ mother have on the world because she chose to be a faithful mother? What do we learn about Moses’ mother from this story

- When you think about your mother, what stories come to mind? What was the funniest thing your mom ever did? What was the toughest decision she ever had to make? If you are a parent now, how much more clearly can you see your mom’s work on your behalf? If you could tell your mom one thing today, what would it be?

Ready, Set, PRAY

How great Thou art, a magnificent Creator – how great Thou art! In your intelligent design, you established the family, and placed at the very center of that family the mother. God, thank you for our mothers! Our mothers give us comfort, nurture, care, and sacrifice. And in this day and age when so many families fall on the shoulders of a single parent, we thank you for the strength and dignity you give moms everywhere. Yet, even as we acknowledge this truth, we understand that not all moms are not created equal in their ability to parent. Even so, we give you the glory for our moms – for they gave us life and a chance to change the world. Lord God, who teaches about true love, we are glad to have experienced earthly love firsthand in the persons of our mothers. May you bless mothers everywhere, that they may find their strength in You! Our prayer in Jesus Name, AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Bad Company Corrupts Good Character

2006-04-26T15:17:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wanted to belong so bad, that you’d do anything to be a part – even things you wished you hadn’t?

Keith was an average kid from and average family who lived in an average town and went to an average school – in short, he lived an average life. Keith always had decent friends and did okay in school and athletics. But by the time Keith got to High School, he was convinced he wanted something more – to be noticed and to belong.

His first encounter with fitting in as a freshman came at the hands of the “moshers” - young people who listen to heavy metal music, dress in black and chains, and abuse marijuana. After dying his hair black (against his parents will), getting one ear pieced, and buying a whole new collection of music that he really didn’t enjoy listening to, he decided that belonging to the “mosher” clique wasn’t for him.

In his sophomore year, Keith found himself without identity and needing to connect. He began to gravitate to the “preps” and tried to imitate their behavior. After buying some designer shoes and shirts and making some key friends with financial clout (his family had none), he began to run with the “preps.” In time, however, he discovered that the kids in these circles had all kinds of family problems, and they spent much of their time on the weekends drinking too much alcohol and sleeping around with other “preps.” After not being able to fake being rich any longer, Keith realized he didn’t belong and would have to seek his fortunes somewhere else.

In his Junior year, Keith began to get active with the basketball team. Not good enough to play in games, he became the team’s head manager. He’d hoped that spending a lot of time with his basketball buddies would offer him a chance to fit in and be a part of a group; but, in the end, he found himself wrapped up in a culture of horrible language, drinking, and casual sex. The team played poorly that year, and being identified with the basketball program lost its allure. His “friends” left him, and he was once again without an identity.

In Keith’s Senior year, it seemed that all hope was lost, for in his first three years of High School, he failed every time to connect and belong. In that span of time, he found himself changing his appearance, his lifestyle, his vocabulary – all in the name of fitting in. It all seemed hopeless – until he met Jenn. Jenn was a Christian. She was beautiful, outgoing, popular, and self-confident. After meeting at a football game, Jenn invited Keith to a “fifth quarter” party their church hosted after home games. From the time he walked in the door of the youth annex that Fall night, he knew something was different. He felt loved and accepted; he felt like he belonged. In time, he came to more gatherings at the church and he and Jenn began dating. Upon graduation, she encouraged him to follow her to a Christian college. It was here that he became a Christian and gave his life to Jesus. He changed his major to Ministry, and he now serves as a Youth Minster in a small church with his wife, Jenn, and two small children.

Again, Keith’s story could have been one with a tragic ending, for all his life, he had surrounded himself with bad company that was destroying his character. Why had he put himself on such a destructive path? To belong. The powerful need to belong is one that will lead people to do most anything to fit in. The question we have to ask for ourselves (and we hope our Seniors are asking as well), what lengths will we go to belong to the Family of God?

In our worship this week, I want us to focus on the idea that God is the provider of identity – not the world. The world would have us appear as they want us to. God causes us to appear as He does: holy. For in God’s holiness and fullness of fellowship, we see the real meaning for our won lives and the need to belong to something much bigger than the world offers. Our worth is not connected to what we are but Whose we are.

Resounding Themes:
Finding Belonging In Jesus
Seeking More, Being More
Worth and Identity In Community
God’s Holiness and Fullness

Ready, Set, READ

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

1 Corinthians 5:1-7

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

1 Corinthians 15:33-34

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- What is the Corinthian problem as Paul opens his letter to them? Why is there such confusion? Why would belonging to one person or party over another have such significance? In the end, what does Paul say about the matter?

- What level of sin does Paul uncover in Corinth? How is the man being treated? How does Paul command them concerning him? Why is allowing him to belong to the church more harmful than good? What does he compare the man’s sin to? What must been done in order to set things right?

- Why does Paul feel the need to give this “laundry list of sin” here? What is he trying to accomplish by saying it? Why is it important for us to remember our past?

- Does bad company indeed corrupt good character? As Keith from our story above, have you ever experienced this to be true? What lengths have you gone to before to belong to something/someone who was corruptive? Why should we bother with belonging to Jesus?

Ready, Set, PRAY

You alone are God! Unchangeable. Unshakeable. Unstoppable. For from the very aura of Your holiness, are we convinced of Your supremacy and our fallibility. You are the Creator God, giver of life and worth. Our identity, oh Father, is totally intertwined in the story of Your love for us. It is in your righteous presence that we confess our sinfulness. How many times, O God, have we sought our identity in other things and persons other than you? We are desperate to fit in. In many ways, we feel like outcasts standing at the gates of acceptance from our peers, our bosses, our spouses…our own pride. Our insatiable need to belong has led us into much sin and far away from your own heart. Draw us back to You once again, O Father. Remind us of the belonging we have in the fellowship of Your Spirit. Give us the memory of who we were before we fell in love with You and the reality of who we are now, in Jesus. Restore to us the joy that can only be enjoyed from finding a sense of belonging – belonging to You! You alone are God! In the transformative, accepting power of Jesus. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Nothing Risked, Nothing Gained

2006-04-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

Have you ever taken a huge risk with a great outcome?

It was the summer of 1996 when she walked into my life. I had just received my Undergraduate degree at ACU and had made the decision to stick around and continue my Master’s studies. I would like to say that this decision was made in light of some huge revelation from God or direct Word from His Spirit…when in reality, I hung around as I had yet to find a wife!

That summer, like the two previous and the two to follow, I was working at the ACU Summer Leadership Camps as the camp worship leader. This was to be my third year, and I felt that many things were falling into place. My life picture was coming into focus. I was working at a church in Abilene, and I had my degree. For a twenty-three year old, I felt pretty well adjusted. Then she walked into my life. A young, naïve 18 year-old girl came to work on the camp staff that year. She was the little sister of one of my best friends. I had seen her from time to time because of our acquaintance, but never gave her a second thought. It wasn’t for lack of beauty, because she was quite gorgeous (and still is!). It wasn’t for lack of personality, as she was bubbly and quite personal. In truth, I was overlooking the most obvious gift God was giving me because I had taken her off of my radar because she was my friend’s little sis!

Well, that summer of ’96 continued on as most summers do, and I became keenly aware of this aforementioned girl’s presence wherever I went. She followed me everywhere and found numerous ways to get into proximity of me every chance she had. I began to get a little nervous. Nervousness gave way to annoyance, until finally, I asked one of her friends at the camp what was wrong with her! She politely responded, “she likes you and wants you to ask her out.” Never before had I been chased by a girl. Never! I’m the man! I’m the one who does the chasing to get what I want! The whole thing gave me the heebie-jeebies!

Yet, as the summer came to a close, it became more and more obvious that the sister of my good friend was not going to leave me alone. On what I would call a “sympathy date,” I agreed to come join her at a friend’s house to watch a movie with some of her friends. What they didn’t tell me was that I would be the only guy there and that the movie was “Pride and Prejudice.” Needless to say, that didn’t go too well. In a last ditch effort a few weeks later (and with much encouragement from my friends) I asked this girl out on a more formal date. I remember it like it was yesterday. We went to the Olive Garden (just about the only decent restaurant in Abilene at the time). It was abysmal. We had nothing to talk about. Nothing in common (or so I thought). I’m almost sure we got into a war of words about something. The date ended in disaster, and I was sure that this little “summer crush” of hers was over and done for. For four months, I forgot all about her. I began my Master’s work and dug in at the church I was working at. I had no time for girls. No time for anything but eating, sleeping, and reading. However, I remember that winter being home for Christmas that year. I was up very late one night playing solitaire on the computer. And as I drug the Ace of hearts to the top of the screen, it hit me…I really liked my friend’s sister. In fact, I might even want to date her! What had I been so scared about all this time? She was perfect for me. I knew it right then as sure as I knew my own name.

I went back to school in January with a new lease on life. I found this girl right off and asked her on a date. One thing led to another, and before you know it, we went out on several dates. As Spring Break hit that term, it was obvious that we were exclusively dating. Yet, one thing was absent from this story – the kiss. You see, in the weeks that we had gone out, we had never kissed. For me, in this relationship, kissing would be a marker and true test of seriousness; in short, I knew if I kissed this girl, I would eventually marry her. As you can bet, we had many awkward times over those few months when a romantic night would end and I would offer no kiss. Then it happened. On May 5^th, 1997, at 11:42pm on the steps of the amphitheater, I had made up my mind that I was going to risk everything I was holding on to. All my fears, pride (and prejudice - ha), were going to be put on the line in one single moment that would define me one way or the other forever! Skipping all the juicy details…suffice it to say, it went well! From that moment on, we were inseparable, and as I predicted, that kiss turned into a marriage almost 15 months later – of which we’ll celebrate 8 years this August.

As I look back now, it all seems silly – perspective has a way of doing that, doesn’t it? But at the time, I was certain that risking was not my best choice. What if I failed? What I had been rejected? What if it worked out and I lost my precious independence? What if, what if, what if??? In fact, the paralysis of analysis had crippled me into not being able to risk anything at all. I wonder if many times, my spiritual life is the same way, when advance after advance, I reject God’s initiation for a deeper walk with him, for fear I might lose myself in Him. Oh, what a fool I am! For I know now, deep inside, that risking can bring about two ends: failure or success. However, being too cautious to risk at all has no outcome whatsoever. Nothing risked…nothing gained...and what more does one have to gain by risking with God? This week, our worshipful focus will be on the men and women of the Bible who lived their life for God – not recklessly without regard for God’s leading, but in a lifestyle of risking much for the sake of gaining more with God. May our lives closely resemble their attitude of faith!

Resounding Themes:
Losing You Life for Jesus
Great God!
Extreme Faith
God’s Unforced Rhythms of Grace

Ready, Set, READ

Hebrews 11

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- What does the Hebrews writer have to say about faith in his opening comments? What is the first thing mentioned that we have to “risk” to have faith? Why is that much so important to someone who fears God?

- Which of these stories of “faith” jump out at you? Why? Which one of these characters do you think took the biggest risk in their faith? Is there a story here that surprises you? Why?

- What’s the biggest risk you’ve ever taken? Was it a reckless risk (one that need not have been taken) or one than had calculable rewards if successful? How did it turn out? In retrospect, even if you failed, are you glad you risked? Are you good at risking in your relationship with God? If not, what holds you back? Do you really consider the Christian life-choice a risky venture?

Ready, Set, PRAY

Give thanks to You, Lord, our God and King – Your love endures forever! The splendor of Your immeasurable majesty stretches all around us, and though us, and in us. Creation declares Your praises as they take their part in the symphony of Your handiwork. So too, Father, may our mouths loose Your praises as we find ourselves enveloped more and more in You! Many before us, oh Great Redeemer, have found themselves in the unforced rhythms of Your grace. Servants live Noah, Joshua, David, Esther, Elijah, Mary, Simon Peter…they all had one thing in common; they risked in relationship we You. In retrospect, we call their acts “faith.” Yet, in the moment, I’m sure they felt anything but faithful – for it is a risky adventure to lay ourselves in the palm of Your will, Oh God. Yet, even as we submit, we find Your grip is both secure and gentle, firm but compassionate, constant yet ever-changing. By the witness that so many have shown to us, Lord, may we take our lead from them, drawing strength from their stories of risk and relationship with You. And Father, would You prepare us for such a noble task – as to do Your will…

Oh Lord, prepare me to be a Sanctuary

Pure and Holy, tried and true.

With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living Sanctuary for You.

Call us. Break us. Cleanse us. Use us. Give us the eyes to see and the faith to risk. Through the name of the One Who risked for our sake, Jesus. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!